title: Nurses' experience of caring for delirious patients.
abstract: This qualitative research was aimed at understanding nurses' experiences of caring for delirious patients. Four in-depth open-ended interviews were analyzed. A model to present the caring experience was developed from the interviews. The experience of caring for the delirious patient is a process of "striving for balance". Informants reported trying to deal with unanticipated patient conditions and the unyielding workloads by balancing these two conditions. Some of the actions pursued included: relying on outer resources, assuring safety, reporting, and supporting each other. Understanding the nurses' caring experience is important for the nurse administrators in helping the nurse manage delirious patients. Suggestions for future research are also made.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University. mfalou@ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Meei-Fang
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Yu-Tzu
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003693:Delirium / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008960:Models, Psychological; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D036301:Qualitative Research; D017751:Safety Management; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D016526:Workload