PowerPoint Presentation

[Audio] Sleeping With The Sea of Sharks: Lived Experiences Of Filipino Nurses With Covid- 19 By: Leynalyn P. Resonable.

[Audio] Background of the Study. Nurses provide essential and unparalleled service in the challenges of the pandemic. Nurses receive their reward as they feel good in their selflessness at the cost of their wellbeing,even their own lives. Yet despite their self-sacrifice, they are discriminated against and even more despised when infected with Covid- 19..

[Audio] This research study operationally explored the lived experiences of nurses who recovered from Covid- 19. It provides the participants affected an opportunity to have a voice and make a meaningful contribution for the public to understand their experience from the perspective of a front liner being a patient themselves and how it impacted their lives. This knowledge may lead to the formulation of other queries that will aid in nursing practice and pave the way to discover a different approach to responding to healthcare workers' needs, especially during this pandemic..

[Audio] The study is entitled "Sleeping with the Sea of Sharks: Lived Experiences of Filipino Nurses with Covid- 19". Sharks are regarded as one of the best predators on earth for being ruthless and cold-blooded killers with their aggressive behavior. The researcher used the metaphor as sharks are connected to emotions of being threatened in life, situations out of control and feeling vulnerable. Being infected of Covid-19 gave the nurses' not only strong feelings of dread and doom but also made them swim into the ocean of peril. The effect of the pandemic is likened to the sea of sharks..

[Audio] Statement of Objective. This study sought to explore and describe and explore the lived experiences of Filipino nurses diagnosed with Covid- 19..

[Audio] Methods. A descriptive qualitative approach was used in this study. A semi-structured interview guide was utilized in the data gathering, with an in-depth, one-on-one interview with the participants. With their permission, all interviews were audio-recorded and stored in secured digital files that consist of both audio recordings and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using a thematic analysis technique..

[Audio] Population and Locale of the Study. Seven Filipino nurses who are working in private tertiary hospitals in Luzon, Philippines responsible for providing direct care to patients were enrolled as participants. Individually interviewed between February and April 2021. The participants were willing to participate and gave their full consent to be included in the study. Excluded from the study criteria were nurses working in the outpatient department, clinics, offices, and screening booths. The actual number of participants included was based on the researchers meeting the point of saturation. A purposive sampling technique was used to solicit appropriate participants. For Data Analysis, Colaizzi's seven steps method was used to analyze transcripts..

[Audio] Trials and tribulations were experienced by the Filipino nurses when they were inflicted with Covid 19. Their encounters tested their faith and made them even more dedicated to their sworn oath to serve. Filipino resilience became evident with the findings of this research. The salient findings of the research study are summarized and major themes with their respective sub-themes were formulated as follows: Number 1: We are crawling in the dark together with its sub-themes includes, I got this like the back of my hand, Imminent danger, Defenseless Warriors, Wretched Nurses, and Enervated Faith. Number 2, Left out in the cold with sub-themes: Claptrap praises for nurses, On the back burner, Recharging batteries. Lastly, Aftermath with sub-themes includes, Adding insult to the injury, Thoughts of walking out a Sworn oath to serve, Recovery from The Hurricane, Highlighting the essentials, Intentional disregard for negatives, and Rejuvenated Faith..

[Audio] The first theme is We Are Crawling in The Dark. The Coronavirus as an unseen enemy has subjected the whole world to extreme chaos causing massive deaths and the fall of economies. It is as though everyone is crawling in the dark and unable to figure out what will happen next and for how long more. It is generally believed that no country was fully prepared to handle the magnitude of the COVID- 19 pandemic..

[Audio] The theme was derived from the respondents' statements as they depicted their plight at the hospital during this current time of the pandemic. As they explicitly described by Participant 03 (Line 18)" Everybody is still crawling even up to the present as they are still trying to figure things out." Participant 04 (Line 101) "The hospital is crawling in the dark. If infection control protocols are given priority, all employees will be safe.".

[Audio] Getting it like the back of their hand means having very good knowledge or familiar of something. In their case, they felt they already knew what to do with Covid 19, which they regarded as just another virus. They got used to doing things the same way that they overlooked hazards in their surroundings as Covid 19 started to expand worldwide..

[Audio] Imminent danger means there is cause to believe the well-being of an individual is in peril if no intervention is immediately initiated. Any workplace where appropriate measures are not fully complied with would pose a danger to an employee. Some have underestimated the risk of tasks they performed regularly. The moment they noticed changes in their environment, it was already too late, and they fell victim to the dreadful disease. The sudden emergence of Covid 19 and its advance into a pandemic increased the demands of nurses' work, causing a lack of confidence, immense stress, and fear as they must battle an unseen novel enemy which was rapidly spreading..

[Audio] Defenseless Warriors. The nurses did not have adequate personal protective equipment to use like gowns, and gloves, which put them directly at risk in terms of their own safety and prevented them from being potential carriers of this disease to the patients for whom they were caring. The nurses were burnout working long hours of being understaffed.. Mandatory tests were not administered which the nurses needed for them to ensure their own health and their families..

[Audio] Wretched Nurses. All of them were shocked to find out they were positive for Covid 19.The possibility of being afflicted did not cross their minds. They were miserably thinking of the loved ones they left at home. All their close contacts were quarantined too also with their families. Knowing the stigma of the disease, they feared for their sake. They felt they have caused severe suffering to their loved ones and the guilt feeling lingered. The employers did not care about nurses so much more for their families who were also affected..

[Audio] The participants had inner struggles, and each of them verbalized how they thought of their situation while talking to God. Upon knowledge of their positive Covid 19 swab results, they felt weak and questioned their faith. Fear embraced the nurses. The nurses had felt that God was punishing them, and some initially felt angry..

[Audio] Left out in the cold. "To be left out in the cold" means "to be ignored, forgotten and neglected". The participants underwent tremendous challenges and struggles as they were going through the experience of being infected with the Covid 19 virus. People around the world acclaimed nurses as heroes, and yet during this time, when they were the ones who were ridden with the disease, all praises were erased, and they were subjected to overwhelming scorn..

[Audio] Claptrap praises for Nurses. Nurses, have also been subject to bullying and stigma, partly due to the perception that they are more likely to contract and spread COVID- 19. When their positive Covid 19 results came out, praises ceased for them. The admirations became a claptrap: pretentious nonsense, insincere or empty language. Others were verbal with their disgust and most people as described by the nurses, were killing them softly with their silence and avoiding gestures. One of the nurses stated, they will not die of Covid, but the stigma will..

[Audio] On the back burner means in the position of something that will not receive immediate attention and action. This describes how the modern heroes are given value by their employers., Coordination with the local agencies for the sake of nurses is poor. There was deficient information regarding swab test results, contact tracing, and support for the infected nurses. Their necessities were not met when they were placed in quarantine. Water or refreshments were not included with the food provided during their isolation They even had to provide their own medicine and vitamins. Monitoring paraphernalia was not provided like a thermometer. NO staff call or guide t like doctors, head nurses, the chaplain, or coordinators..

[Audio] the participants found ways to get up on their feet and "recharge their batteries" while confined in their rooms. Despite being unable to understand the purpose of their experience, they held on to their faith. Prayer became a part of their lives during their time of solitude. Their cell phones became an ally to them as they could communicate with their loved ones using technology. They ensured they were healthy and anticipated negative results for their next swab test. They ate healthy food and took the vitamins they brought, and friends and relatives provided some. Others exercised and did stretching and Zumba to keep fit. One followed up on some work she was not able to endorse. One watched the cartoons, and another watched TV to divert their attention and emotions of boredom, depression, and anxiety..