Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department team
dynamics and workforce sustainability in Australia. A qualitative study
Dublin Core
Title
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department team
dynamics and workforce sustainability in Australia. A qualitative study
dynamics and workforce sustainability in Australia. A qualitative study
Subject
Emergency Nursing
COVID-19
Pandemic
Nursing workforce
Team dynamics
Team communication
COVID-19
Pandemic
Nursing workforce
Team dynamics
Team communication
Description
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health care professionals and changed our approach to care
delivery. The aim in this study was to explore nurses’ experiences providing care in the ED during the COVID-19
pandemic in Australia and the impact of this on ED team functioning.
Methods: A qualitative explorative descriptive study was conducted using thematic analysis strategies. Participants comprised: Registered Nurses (n = 18) working in clinical roles in the Emergency Department and
Leadership Registered Nurses (n = 6) within the organisation. One on one interviews (n = 21) and one focus
group interview were conducted utilising semi-structured, conversational style, in-depth interviews between
January 2022 and April 2022.
Results: Two major themes were identified that described the impact on ED team dynamics and longer-term
impacts on the ED nursing workforce. The first major theme was: ‘Changed Emergency Department team
identity and dynamics’ and included four sub-themes: i) PPE is a barrier to team camaraderie; ii) outsiders versus
insiders – ambivalence to PPE spotter role; iii) personal safety comes first in a pandemic; and iv) using PPE depersonalises the whole patient experience. The second major theme was: ‘This pandemic caught everyone off guard’
and had three sub-themes. The associated sub-themes were: i) People outside ED have no understanding of what it
has been like; ii) COVID-19 is here to stay - Permanent changes to care delivery and nursing practice; and iii) tenacity of
a true profession.
Conclusions: Study findings illuminated the dynamics and functionality of ED nursing, encompassing the unique
qualities of camaraderie, autonomy, resilience and tenacity.
delivery. The aim in this study was to explore nurses’ experiences providing care in the ED during the COVID-19
pandemic in Australia and the impact of this on ED team functioning.
Methods: A qualitative explorative descriptive study was conducted using thematic analysis strategies. Participants comprised: Registered Nurses (n = 18) working in clinical roles in the Emergency Department and
Leadership Registered Nurses (n = 6) within the organisation. One on one interviews (n = 21) and one focus
group interview were conducted utilising semi-structured, conversational style, in-depth interviews between
January 2022 and April 2022.
Results: Two major themes were identified that described the impact on ED team dynamics and longer-term
impacts on the ED nursing workforce. The first major theme was: ‘Changed Emergency Department team
identity and dynamics’ and included four sub-themes: i) PPE is a barrier to team camaraderie; ii) outsiders versus
insiders – ambivalence to PPE spotter role; iii) personal safety comes first in a pandemic; and iv) using PPE depersonalises the whole patient experience. The second major theme was: ‘This pandemic caught everyone off guard’
and had three sub-themes. The associated sub-themes were: i) People outside ED have no understanding of what it
has been like; ii) COVID-19 is here to stay - Permanent changes to care delivery and nursing practice; and iii) tenacity of
a true profession.
Conclusions: Study findings illuminated the dynamics and functionality of ED nursing, encompassing the unique
qualities of camaraderie, autonomy, resilience and tenacity.
Creator
Penelope Dempster a,c,*
, Ana Hutchinson a,b,d
, Elizabeth Oldland a
, St´ephane L. Bouchoucha a,d
, Ana Hutchinson a,b,d
, Elizabeth Oldland a
, St´ephane L. Bouchoucha a,d
Source
https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/276922/1-s2.0-S1755599X23X00068/1-s2.0-S1755599X23001179/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEJv%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIGrTCRdgOa73ekDMUBz6eKcaAP1cuvNUcB%2F2qlOQ%2BS2VAiBEMHK7P9NzgWwUB6XrphuRF8gWUK7JNRRze1EHgHoLHyq7BQiD%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAUaDDA1OTAwMzU0Njg2NSIMq0puLZDvfjLQ7Kd%2FKo8FZVW%2BAXyLASxasb1pHb3sI7mPYBwCUc3x8U1kKilKxoo5BsyG4p3aI74d70CfkjKOR1Rh%2FJFIuHtUYG4gPr3j73y%2BIGgKYLucBabF793m6wT1zgIOM4Yr8RAVEyRzbicnhsWFpav0L%2BzRZQwR1W%2BkmTxwFQvME7UHLONafbM11oyxRS0iDWfTK0iWKUke8R2%2BKHkQjRMJKqaEpRa4SOuu9Nf%2F1mGQ9mgZzQa3%2BN77itD1MvcgbiMX4VfVv%2FNFHjENF2fCKK5%2BYQ7uLCO0DUId7ANEacoHxYlTHC4zcEl92GyMgTqkZ9FrtsHBDqxthsAJnp1%2FNBsEpIeDwE6aEuhWAvUCVVrvLa53DaoCWMg9aiTdz1Yf8z2%2BLHnjvgRmrasEkrzgZm%2BQLlsRshR4bFx0GD2EG0jKf0D4N6C9SlbYt8XS%2Be7sqvzs1l6KbKJK94lTXzyh%2BdQr14%2FAs%2BxLBYX5OrY7ES%2B5a1qX99HhcHyunLijQtJXz%2BJ9xdT5F%2BO4zgf4BwfWGqAf32GdK9USeKYfFNIu1NdxTlfVVqFvMY1uidVyFYMjcQsP%2BGgp8wMOrAYe5UfvtJqCBL2IGvfQ23Nbeij6o4C54guApKPqrv2KJvRp5H500eP1FhmYZqKHy%2BMwv8mM5fzhsbEJYoKZKpZNtVGyaRxhB%2FpELW1g0lviLGOBkL6MKMS3gMr%2FvvPAFOogdF%2Bl85IbofbgPvj9rQyRfHkLB%2Bj5g4Sq28lRX6J9t0atsG5veSTsIzKLHHeZSXsa5mIUSqHdk1k2fKss1c7sOnCS3ODVRN7S%2BJU4Y9d09RVu9UImYcc8NabVDwL6fORGdC1rUjG%2Bp8WRyICLqpjgHQi9DgNmTMGnF68r3sJZFTDSxMjCBjqyAacA4ly6iAJLs%2Bpqb7BVvyvHz1i6M0nqf1oqt1zHeNauUrugOoKOLniNYglQZgFcLme8SVctY1oyhWhGaP%2BTR3PSdSI3JfgTitlqPn132WqQ2CpTNT60kgGEKQhJ5tnWSm38p2bjMNa4opIQZmlqq0NM7O9KcmG7uTwIBa8MSjUqTGf8khnoEkIy6dP9AEIouktcI%2FL9A57o%2FDA5aDRGuZ7huasGNfp7uJ7v%2BUIWINxatGo%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20250618T022929Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY6AOXZJG6%2F20250618%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=2c8c5f07ae5da85a693f5d1210783220f56f08d175a6a70b086437afaadd7551&hash=bfe3707d346eef32104a4ead9866bd05b64624bcbe6c4d2ff78482b53a2ec5f7&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1755599X23001179&tid=spdf-bc1cecbc-9970-4e70-9797-fefb18486768&sid=14b8a1eb7498d34787591540b87a02ee8336gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&rh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=13025d5355575206040151&rr=95175bfa29f9b5db&cc=id
Publisher
a Deakin University Geelong, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Institute for Health Transformation, Australia b Deakin University Geelong, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Epworth Healthcare Partnership, Australia c Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, Australia d Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease and Immunology Research (CIIDIR), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3128, Australia
Date
17 oktober 2023
Contributor
Fajar Bagus W
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Website Item Type Metadata
Local URL
https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/276922/1-s2.0-S1755599X23X00068/1-s2.0-S1755599X23001179/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEJv%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIGrTCRdgOa73ekDMUBz6eKcaAP1cuvNUcB%2F2qlOQ%2BS2VAiBEMHK7P9NzgWwUB6XrphuRF8gWUK7JNRRze1EHgHoLHyq7BQiD%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAUaDDA1OTAwMzU0Njg2NSIMq0puLZDvfjLQ7Kd%2FKo8FZVW%2BAXyLASxasb1pHb3sI7mPYBwCUc3x8U1kKilKxoo5BsyG4p3aI74d70CfkjKOR1Rh%2FJFIuHtUYG4gPr3j73y%2BIGgKYLucBabF793m6wT1zgIOM4Yr8RAVEyRzbicnhsWFpav0L%2BzRZQwR1W%2BkmTxwFQvME7UHLONafbM11oyxRS0iDWfTK0iWKUke8R2%2BKHkQjRMJKqaEpRa4SOuu9Nf%2F1mGQ9mgZzQa3%2BN77itD1MvcgbiMX4VfVv%2FNFHjENF2fCKK5%2BYQ7uLCO0DUId7ANEacoHxYlTHC4zcEl92GyMgTqkZ9FrtsHBDqxthsAJnp1%2FNBsEpIeDwE6aEuhWAvUCVVrvLa53DaoCWMg9aiTdz1Yf8z2%2BLHnjvgRmrasEkrzgZm%2BQLlsRshR4bFx0GD2EG0jKf0D4N6C9SlbYt8XS%2Be7sqvzs1l6KbKJK94lTXzyh%2BdQr14%2FAs%2BxLBYX5OrY7ES%2B5a1qX99HhcHyunLijQtJXz%2BJ9xdT5F%2BO4zgf4BwfWGqAf32GdK9USeKYfFNIu1NdxTlfVVqFvMY1uidVyFYMjcQsP%2BGgp8wMOrAYe5UfvtJqCBL2IGvfQ23Nbeij6o4C54guApKPqrv2KJvRp5H500eP1FhmYZqKHy%2BMwv8mM5fzhsbEJYoKZKpZNtVGyaRxhB%2FpELW1g0lviLGOBkL6MKMS3gMr%2FvvPAFOogdF%2Bl85IbofbgPvj9rQyRfHkLB%2Bj5g4Sq28lRX6J9t0atsG5veSTsIzKLHHeZSXsa5mIUSqHdk1k2fKss1c7sOnCS3ODVRN7S%2BJU4Y9d09RVu9UImYcc8NabVDwL6fORGdC1rUjG%2Bp8WRyICLqpjgHQi9DgNmTMGnF68r3sJZFTDSxMjCBjqyAacA4ly6iAJLs%2Bpqb7BVvyvHz1i6M0nqf1oqt1zHeNauUrugOoKOLniNYglQZgFcLme8SVctY1oyhWhGaP%2BTR3PSdSI3JfgTitlqPn132WqQ2CpTNT60kgGEKQhJ5tnWSm38p2bjMNa4opIQZmlqq0NM7O9KcmG7uTwIBa8MSjUqTGf8khnoEkIy6dP9AEIouktcI%2FL9A57o%2FDA5aDRGuZ7huasGNfp7uJ7v%2BUIWINxatGo%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20250618T022929Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY6AOXZJG6%2F20250618%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=2c8c5f07ae5da85a693f5d1210783220f56f08d175a6a70b086437afaadd7551&hash=bfe3707d346eef32104a4ead9866bd05b64624bcbe6c4d2ff78482b53a2ec5f7&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1755599X23001179&tid=spdf-bc1cecbc-9970-4e70-9797-fefb18486768&sid=14b8a1eb7498d34787591540b87a02ee8336gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&rh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=13025d5355575206040151&rr=95175bfa29f9b5db&cc=id
Citation
Penelope Dempster a,c,*
, Ana Hutchinson a,b,d
, Elizabeth Oldland a
, St´ephane L. Bouchoucha a,d , “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department team
dynamics and workforce sustainability in Australia. A qualitative study,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed July 16, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/9542.
dynamics and workforce sustainability in Australia. A qualitative study,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed July 16, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/9542.