Striving for balance - A qualitative study to explore the experiences of nurses new to the ambulance service in Sweden

Hörberg, AnnaKarolinska Institutet,Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm; The Ambulance Medical Service in Stockholm (AISAB), Stockholm (author)

New nurses and nurses new to a professional practice go through a transition where they adopt a new professional identity. This has been described as a challenging time where peer support and limited responsibility are considered necessary. Little is known about the experience of nurses being new to the ambulance service where support is limited and the nurse holds full responsibility of patient care. The aim of this study has therefore been to explore nurses' experiences during their first year of employment in the Swedish ambulance service. Data was generated from semi-structured interviews with 13 nurses having less than 12 months of experience of work in the ambulance service. The nurses represented nine different districts in Sweden. Analysis was a latent inductive qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in the main category, Striving for balance during the transition process in the ambulance context. Transition in the ambulance service was experienced as a balance act between emotions, expectations and a strive for professional development. The balance was negatively affected by harsh, condescending attitudes among colleagues and the lack of structured support and feedback. In striving for balance in their new professional practice, the nurses described personal, unsupervised strategies for professional development.

Lindström, VeronicaKarolinska Institutet (author)
Kalén, SusanneKarolinska Institutet (author)
Scheja, MaxStockholms universitet,Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik(Swepub:su)schej (author)
Vicente, VeronicaKarolinska Institutet (author)
Karolinska InstitutetKarolinska Institutet, Stockholm; The Ambulance Medical Service in Stockholm (AISAB), Stockholm (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Hörberg, Anna; Lindström, Veron ...; Kalén, Susanne; Scheja, Max; Vicente, Veronic ...

About the subject

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES: MEDICAL AND HEAL ...; and Health Sciences; and Health Care Serv ...

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES: MEDICAL AND HEAL ...; and Health Sciences; and Nursing

By the university: Stockholm University; Karolinska Institutet; Högskolan Dalarna

Kungliga biblioteket hanterar dina personuppgifter i enlighet med EU:s dataskyddsförordning (2018), GDPR. Läs mer om hur det funkar här.
Så här hanterar KB dina uppgifter vid användning av denna tjänst.