‘There was a pivotal moment’. The dynamics, transitions, adaptations and trajectories of nursing at the front-line in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic

Conolly, Anna Rachel, Maben, Jill, Abrams, Ruth, Harris, Ruth, Kelly, Daniel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1847-0655, Kent, Bridie, Couper, Keith and Rowland, Emma 2024. ‘There was a pivotal moment’. The dynamics, transitions, adaptations and trajectories of nursing at the front-line in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE 19 (2) , e0295394. 10.1371/journal.pone.0295394

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Abstract

Using qualitative interview data (n = 142 interviews) generated with 50 nurses, over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper traces the trajectories of nurses in the UK and attempts to unpick the interplay between structure and agency in their narratives. Interviews were inductively analysed for themes and an additional narrative analysis was undertaken to preserve the form of each participant’s narrative. We argue that nurses’ pandemic trajectories occurred within the ‘psychological vulnerability-stigma nexus’ which operates within health and social care providers in the UK and whilst constraining nurses’ agency at times it could also provide an impetus to act agentically. We found that the nurses’ COVID-19 trajectories were characterised by: getting by, getting out (job-hopping) getting needs met and getting organised. We call for more considered systemic support to be generated and consistently provided to nurses to ensure retention of nurses and the security of society to avoid exacerbating existing workforce shortages.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Healthcare Sciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher:	Public Library of Science
ISSN:	1932-6203
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 March 2024
Date of Acceptance:	21 November 2023
Last Modified:	01 Mar 2024 10:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166748

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