Poster Talk: Filipino next generation nurses as frontliners amid COVID-19 pandemic: A Husserlian phenomenology study

Filipino next generation nurses as frontliners amid COVID-19 pandemic:

A Husserlian phenomenology study

Agnes Valencia-Raymundo, PhD, RN1 and Melvin D. Miranda, RN, MAN1

1College of Nursing

Manila Central University

Philippines

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the unprecedented COVID-19 health crisis, Filipino nurses are one of the vital health workers in fighting its devastations in the Philippines. However, when paralleled with other health professionals, nurses who are similarly serving at the forefront of the battle against this pandemic, have a considerable inferior profile. The study purported to describe the lived-experiences of Filipino next generation nurses as frontliners in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. It is guided by this central question: What characterize the lived-experience of a select group of Filipino nurses during COVID-19 event? The paper espoused the qualitative research design of inquiry exclusively Husserlian descriptive phenomenology. Study participants were recruited through non-probability, purposive and snowball sampling. The sample (N=19) was consisted of Filipino nurses with less than 10 years of practice experience (called next-generation nurses) who function as frontline healthcare workers in hospital-based healthcare settings, both male and female, and with the minimum length of service of 6 months. The study was conducted in the national capital region (NCR) of the Philippines, which is home to more than 12 million people and has the most COVID-19 positive cases in the country. Due to the enhanced community quarantine or lockdown imposed by the national government, the corpus of data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews using Facebook chats via messenger and from the participants’ testimonies posted in social-media. Aide memoires were developed that comprised of broad, open-ended guide key questions. An adaptation of Colaizzi's empirical phenomenological research approach was utilized to obtain an in-depth understanding of study participants’ experiences. Multiple validation strategies were employed which included correspondence where data collected and analyzed were reverted back to the study participants for verification and validation. The profound, life-changing experiences of a select group of Filipino next generation nurses who served as frontliners during the COVID-19 pandemic are unified in 3 interesting themes, namely: Acclimatization to the challenges of the novel clinical situations, Affirmation of the spirit of resiliency, and Actualization of the valued calling. The contagion has demanded a new way of working, and these nurses have risen to the challenge, and demonstrated how capable they are at responding to new situations and uncertainty. Despite facing dire challenges, study participants demonstrate the spirit of resiliency. This health crisis enables them to impart the value of the nursing vocation. As they navigate this unprecedented contagion, their experiences and status could likely alter at different phases of the pandemic. Hence, provision of long-term and holistic support for them is necessary to preserve their welfare.