임상간호사의 노인 환자 안전관리 경험

Clinical Nurses Safety Management Experiences with Older Patients

Purpose: This phenomenological study was done to identify clinical nurses experiences of safety management with older patients. Methods: Data were analyzed using Colaizzi s phenomenological six step method. Data collected from July 27 to December 1, 2017, were from face-to-face in-depth interviews with seven nurses who had worked at one general hospital for more than five years. Data collection was done until data saturation was reached. Results: This study results were comprised of four categories and nine clusters of themes. The four categories were: “Increasing burden in the management of older patients”, “Unsettling feelings of fear and guilt from unexpected safety accidents”, “Shift to active coping”, and “Expectations regarding improvement of safety management for older patients” Conclusion: The results of this study show that for clinical nurses to provide safety management for older patients, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of nursing staff, to understand the unique characteristics of elders, and to establish facilities that older patients can use safely and conveniently. In addition, this study is significant for the nursing community as it provides an improved understanding of safety management for older patients from the nurses point of view and thereby, suggests that there is a need for education and improvement in the work capability to provide care to elders. Furthermore, the study results are also politically significant as evidence to establish standards for expanding the number of nursing staff and safety management infrastructure.