Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Introduction: The ambulance care setting is complex and unpredictable and the personnel must prepare for
Ambulance upcoming assignments. Prehospital emergency care nurses (PENs), are frequently exposed to critical incidents
Critical incident (CIs). There are, to our knowledge, no prior studies describing experiences of requirements for management of
Experiential knowledge caring for a patient during a CI in the ambulance care context. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore
Nurse
PENs’ experiences of care in CIs.
Prehospital emergency care
Method: A qualitative research design with content analysis has been used, based on semi-structured interviews
with eleven PENs in Sweden.
Results: PENs’ experiences can be described as: “In a critical incident, personal ability based on experiential
knowledge is central to patient care”. Three generic categories underpinned the main category: “Clinical ex-
pertise”, “Professional approach” and “Broad knowledge base”.
Conclusions: The care given during a CI in the ambulance care setting depends on PENs’ personal ability based on
experiential knowledge. Employers need to build an organization providing prerequisites and support during an
CI. Suggested activities are to create forums for PENs to share experiences with each other, possibility to get
feedback on completed assignments and continued training to develop new knowledge and be prepared for the
unpredictable environment that characterizes CI.
⁎
Corresponding author at: Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Orebro, Sweden.
E-mail addresses: helena.sjolin@oru.se (H. Sjölin), Veronica.Lindstrom@ki.se (V. Lindström), Veronica.vicente@sll.se (V. Vicente), Hakan.hult@ki.se (H. Hult),
Charlotte.Ringsted@au.dk (C. Ringsted), Lisa.Kurland@oru.se (L. Kurland).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ienj.2020.100890
Received 2 July 2019; Received in revised form 6 May 2020; Accepted 12 May 2020
1755-599X/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H. Sjölin, et al. International Emergency Nursing 51 (2020) 100890
study can provide is expected to identify the ambulance nurse's need for 2.3. Data collection
support in their professional practice and in this way create further
opportunities for safer patient care in an unpredictable environment. Eleven interviews were carried out between February and April
Therefore, the aim of the study has been to explore PENs’ experiences of 2015 with open-ended, semi-structured questions. The interviews
care during CIs. started with an open question: “Can you express your experiences of
caring in a CI”. After the main question, the interviews proceeded with
follow-up questions such as: “Can you elaborate more? and “How did you
2. Methods feel?”. This was to help the PENs to stay focused on their experiences
and on the aim of the study. Data collection continued until no new
2.1. Study design information was obtained during the interviews [12,13]. After the first
eight interviews, data saturation was experienced and then three fur-
The study had a qualitative in-depth interview design. An empiri- ther interviews were conducted to ensure that nothing new about the
cally inductive approach was used to describe experiences of the phe- phenomenon emerged. Each interview lasted between 25 and 60 min
nomenon studied [9]. The chosen design aims to gain a deeper un- and was transcribed verbatim.
derstanding of PENs’ experiences of performing care during a CI.
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H. Sjölin, et al. International Emergency Nursing 51 (2020) 100890
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H. Sjölin, et al. International Emergency Nursing 51 (2020) 100890
interpret, and (how do we) know that they are interpreting cor- things happen.” (no. 7)
rectly, i.e. Interpreting what I’m saying.” (no. 9).
The lack of specific experience, especially concerning children, was
Another problem was communication with patients with mental mentioned. PENs expressed that they did not handle enough assign-
illness who were also drug-addicted, violent or threatening. In order to ments concerning seriously ill children which led to a sense of in-
deal with such a situation, the ability to understand and predict a security and lack of in-depth knowledge:
possible development of the event based on environment and visual
“I find critically ill children really tough, of course. That’s because I
impressions was needed. PENs used different strategies for handling
haven’t worked with children earlier.” (no. 9)
these situations:
“Many people who have mental health problems are also intoxicated
at the same time, or affected in some other way and it makes it even 3.5.2. Sufficient training
more difficult […] When you enter (in to the apartment) […] you Perception varied concerning the content of the education that PENs
quickly get an insight into the patient's everyday life. Just quickly had undergone, but overall, they wished that they had had more
taking in what is in the apartment […] it also makes it possible to training in how to prepare themselves mentally and how to deal with
talk to the patient” (no. 6). the unexpected. The subjects of severely injured patients, death, and
knowledge of transcultural differences were mentioned but everyone
stated explicitly that more knowledge was needed about the severely ill
3.4.1. Awareness of ethical concerns children. PENs also experienced not receiving enough training in pre-
Types of ethical concerns expressed in the interviews concerned paring themselves mentally and dealing with the unexpected. An im-
assignments involving child abuse and neglect, death, and cessation of portant aspect of the training, often mentioned, was that CIs did not
resuscitation in Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, (OHCA). Encountering always turn out to be what they seemed from the beginning. Several
children who might have suffered harm affected PENs: PENs said that their training consisted mainly of the theoretical
“There were two severely intoxicated parents. One of them was knowledge needed for decision-making in relation to the events de-
hardly breathing at all and the other just… and there were two small scribed. Specialist training varied widely but an overall comment was
babies in the apartment.” (no. 6) that a broad knowledge base is essential and that the education is too
short:
PENs often experienced the desire to do more. There were also si-
tuations in which nothing more could be done and they had to deal with “The ambulance nurse should be trained in such a broad knowledge
and accept the situation as it was: base and we only have one single year of education” and “when you
only have a little experience of being a RN before the specialist
“When you look at the child and see that there is nothing more you training, there is so much to focus on.” (no. 1),
can do […] and the feeling of being powerless when you know right
from the beginning that you’re fighting against something that you, Some PENs described having lectures and discussions on ethical
like, see is impossible.” (no. 2) dilemmas in CIs concerning death, for example ceasing resuscitation in
OHCA and dealing with relatives after unexpected death, but also re-
PENs experienced how facing death, watching a person die, ceasing ported concerns for children suffering harm. Other PENs felt that they
resuscitation and notifying relatives that saving him was impossible, did have training and discussions about seriously ill children, death,
was an ethically and emotionally challenging duty, especially the first severely injured patients and knowledge of transcultural differences.
time: The informants experienced the importance of discussing potential CIs
“[…] this task, informing about death… We don’t declare someone and how they might react. Lack of training concerning being prepared
dead, but we sometimes terminate cardiac arrest resuscitation. But to see “the worst-case scenarios”, was described:
we can’t just do it and walk away; it’s up to us to talk to the relatives “Actually, we did not discuss this aspect, how it feels to see a mu-
then.” (no. 2) tilated body for example […], and that is something that would have
been pretty relevant to discuss, I think.” (no. 11)
3.5. Broad knowledge base
3.6. In a critical incident, personal ability based on experiential knowledge
PENs experienced working in the field of ambulance care as re- is essential to patient care
quiring a broad knowledge base and, with increased experience, it in-
creases professional certainty in handling patients in CIs. PENs related PEN experienced a requirement for personal ability based on ex-
that professional expertise increases over the years and that assessments perience knowledge to be able to provide care in a CI. This means that
and decisions taken around patients and their needs are based on in- they need clinical expertise when working in an unpredictable en-
depth knowledge and a more reflective patient-ethical approach. This vironment, and explicit strategies and decision-making skills in sudden
generic category is illustrated by the two sub-categories: “Levels of changing situations. They considered that their professional approach
professional competence” and “Sufficient training”. was fundamental in care situations and that they must create possibi-
lities for giving nursing care to patients. PENs understood ambulance
3.5.1. Levels of professional experience care as being an experience-based profession and that with increased
In CIs, PENs are more vulnerable and in need of a broad knowledge experience, their professional certainty in handling patients in CIs in-
base. PENs experienced being novice in their profession or having an creased.
inexperienced colleague as a challenge:
“I didn’t get any support from my colleague, because he was as 4. Discussion
much of a novice as me, and he relied on me.” (no. 8)
The overall findings in this study shows that experience-based
Another informant related how collaboration with more experi-
knowledge is the most important factor in being able to provide good
enced personnel in the team was important for novices:
care in a CI. Qualitative research seeks to understand the world from
“My colleague was an emergency medical technician with extensive PEN's perspective [13]. This study provides the opportunity to discover
experience; he and I took over the situation on scene and made new meanings in prehospital emergency care by using a qualitative care
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H. Sjölin, et al. International Emergency Nursing 51 (2020) 100890
science strategy. In this way, PEN's descriptions of their experiences care decisions.
have contributed to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of care The result also shows that PEN experienced a need to have a broad
in a CI. knowledge base as they meet patients of all types and with every
The result shows that the PENs experienced a need of clinical ex- conceivable disease state. Through increased knowledge and formal
pertise to be able to perform good care in a CI. Many of the CIs de- competence, PENs’ clinical expertise is strengthened. Earlier studies
scribed in the current study concerned multifaceted and complex in- describe many ambulance nurses as feeling pressured, for example
cidents which could arise in any situation, and PENs always had to keep when nursing critically ill children, often related to insufficient ex-
an open mind and be creative and adaptable. Most commonly, CIs in- perience and knowledge [5,34]. This confirms that a broad knowledge
volved challenges of lack of time and information, inappropriate en- base is needed and that formal university education for PENs is only the
vironment and sudden changes in the situation or being interrupting by basic level of the education needed. Therefore, continued education is
something unexpected. It is previously described how PENs’ worries in essential for the development of prehospital emergency care. This re-
CIs are related to specific nursing situations and environmental factors sponsibility should lie with employers in the ambulance service.
[6]. Human factors were also shown to be the most important causes for
reporting incidents [2]. 4.1. Limitations
PENs experienced unpredictable environments and suddenly chan-
ging situations as necessitating the ability to make urgent decisions in The participants had similar educational background; all PENs had
order to treat patients. Earlier studies add that the extent and severity of graduated from the specialist nursing programme in prehospital
the situation also play pivotal roles in making the best decision in the emergency care but from seven different universities. In Sweden, the
given situation [16,17]. PENs face the challenge of being prepared for specialist nurse education is governed by “The Swedish higher educa-
the unprepared in every patient meeting. Previous clinical experience is tion act” which describes common learning objectives for each field
important in understanding the entire patient situation and managing [35]. The university is responsible for ensuring that the student
complex situations [1,18]. PENs also described needing to bridle their achieves the common learning objectives in relation to the context but
emotions and simultaneously have a supportive approach to patients, formulates syllabuses independently. This means that the content may
which means that they must maintain a professional approach in un- differ between different universities, which can explain differences in
predictable situations. the PENs perception of preparedness for CIs.
PENs must make their own decisions in uncertain conditions, The PENs also had varying degrees of experience as a PEN
usually without any support from authorities. No one else can take over (1–8 years) and consequently different years of graduation, which
that responsibility as in other healthcare professions, and not all com- means that the educational content and set up varied over time. The
plex situations have a specified protocol [17,19]. Prehospital decision sample should be representative but when time has passed, there is a
tools may assist in reducing “time to definite care” and facilitate a risk that participants will have forgotten precisely how events went and
correct assessment of the patient's condition [20]. However, earlier their descriptions may be affected [36,4,37]. However, the definition of
studies indicate that adherence to prehospital guidelines differs and a CI states that it is a retrospective, individual perception. Conversely, if
that content and evidence in existing guidelines vary [21,22,23]. Sev- the incident is specific or extreme, the memory of it may be more vivid
eral informants mentioned that limited or incorrect information af- [4].
fected opportunities to make quick and correct decisions. This means PENs were selected among Stockholm County Council employees. It
that the assessments and dialogue with patients may be inaccurate and may constitute a limitation that some PENs had only experienced
affect patient safety. It is important to be prepared and understand the working in a metropolitan area, and their experience is not re-
issue with this limitation and deal with the difficulties [1]. PENs need presentative of working in a rural environment. However, most PENs
therefore to be open-minded, having a professional approach and re- worked in the suburbs with proximity to both urban and rural areas.
main uninfluenced by preconceptions. It is necessary to create pre- Seeking PENs, the sampling strove for gender balance like that the
requisites for holistic patient care, including medical care and technical ambulance organisation. There were four women and seven men, a
skills [19]. Rantala et al. also argue that the quality of prehospital care proportion reflecting the gender balance in the ambulance service in
is “in the eye of the beholder” but it often relies on the relationship Stockholm at the time of the study and thus representative for the or-
between patient and PEN [24]. One of the barriers to getting and giving ganisation.
information was difficulties due to communication, language and A weakness with qualitative interview studies may be a low number
comprehension. Several studies confirm that communication skills and of people interviewed. However, the number of interviews is not con-
interpersonal relations together with experiential knowledge are key sidered decisive to achieve a credible result, but it is the content rich-
abilities in CIs, and that PENs must be prepared for these situations to ness that determines [12]. In this study, eleven PENs, who told us in
avoid unequal care [25,26,27,28]. detail about their experiences were interviewed, which was perceived
The PENs in this study felt that they need to maintain a professional as sufficient. The trustworthiness of the study is reinforced by the fact
approach and be able to control their own emotions even though the that authors (HS, VV) read the interviews independently of each other.
situation could be chaotic and contain aggravating circumstances. The authors then clustered the meanings into a valid structure and the
PENs’ daily work contained ethical dilemmas to solve, many dealing whole research team reflected on them. This multi-professional (HS, VL,
with child abuse or neglect and death. In such situations, ethical VV, HH, CR, LK) team is a further guarantee for the analysis that has
competence is required, and these situations need to be trained in been carried out. Three of the authors (HS, VV, VL) have clinical ex-
practical and contextual situations [29,30]. One study showed that perience of working as a PEN which strengthens their credibility;
prehospital providers perceive experiencing distress as a “regular part however, this could affect the analysis, which has been counteracted by
of the job” and that there was a culture not to talk about it with other the awareness of having to rein in their understanding.
colleagues [31]. However, knowledge and experience gained from
other colleagues or from working in the profession make situations 5. Conclusion
requiring complex ethical decisions easier and may also reduce negative
reactions to mental stress [17]. Reflection may also be a strategy to The results show that PENs relied on personal ability based on ex-
identify attitudes towards emotional challenges in the ambulance care periential knowledge in care when managing a CI. Based on our find-
setting [32]. Feedback on completed assignments (e.g. in OHCA) and ings, it is evident that employers and stakeholders need to build a
implemented nursing measures improve care for future patients [33] knowledge-based organization that both provides appropriate pre-
and recurrent training may be a prerequisite for making appropriate requisites and support to PENs during an ongoing CI, but also creates
5
H. Sjölin, et al. International Emergency Nursing 51 (2020) 100890
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