title: Nursing at ground zero: experiences during and after September 11 World Trade Center attack.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to discover shared perceptions, feelings, and common experiences of nurses after the September 11th World Trade Center terrorist attack through interpretive analysis of narrative stories of seventeen nurses. Six themes and one constitutive pattern describe the experiences: (a) Loss of a symbol and regaining new meaning, (b) Disaster without patients, (c) Coordinating with and without organizations, (d) Rediscovering the pride in nursing, (e) Traumatic Stress, and (f) Preparing for the future. The constitutive pattern is that nursing enables a humanitarian disaster response.
authors.affiliation: University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne Steffan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Dickerson
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jezewski
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nelson-Tuttle
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shipkey
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wilk
authors.forename: Blythe
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crandall
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001359:Aviation; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009519:New York City; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013561:Symbolism; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*