Nurses' views of shortcomings in patent care encounters in one hospital in Sweden

Abstract

Aim and objective: To describe nurses' views of shortcomings in patient care encounters in one hospital in Sweden.

Background: Shortcomings in encounters in healthcare have increased during recent years. Dissatisfaction with encounters in healthcare can affect patients' experiences of dignity, health and well-being.

Design: A qualitative design was used in the study.

Methods: Three focus group discussions with 15 nurses were conducted. The nurses worked in five different wards. The focus group discussions were subjected to a thematic content analysis.

Results: The results are presented in two themes. The first theme, 'Disregard for the patient's unique nursing needs', describes that information without consideration of the patient's needs, and nurses not being completely present in the meeting with the patient affected healthcare encounters and experiences of quality of care. In the second theme, 'Difficulty managing obstacles', nurses described care situations over which they could not always prevail due to lack of time and/or lack of awareness of the patient's vulnerability.

Conclusion: The findings illustrate the importance of nurses and their approaches to patients. The nurse's attitude is important for the patient's experiences of participation, security, dignity, and well-being. The findings also illustrate the importance of routines in the healthcare organisation that support and facilitate positive encounters between patients, their close relatives and the healthcare staff.

Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses require understanding, presence and commitment in their relationships to every unique patient, and their goal should be to adopt interventions with regard to positive healthcare encounters based on each patient's experiences of good nursing care.

Keywords: focus groups; healthcare encounter; nurses; thematic content analysis; vignettes.