title: Australian perioperative nurses' experiences of assisting in multi-organ procurement surgery: a grounded theory study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Multi-organ procurement surgical procedures through the generosity of deceased organ donors, have made an enormous impact on extending the lives of recipients. There is a dearth of in-depth knowledge relating to the experiences of perioperative nurses working closely with organ donors undergoing multi-organ procurement surgical procedures.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to address this gap by describing the perioperative nurses experiences of participating in multi-organ procurement surgical procedures and interpreting these findings as a substantive theory.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative study used grounded theory methodology to generate a substantive theory of the experiences of perioperative nurses participating in multi-organ procurement surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recruitment of participants took place after the study was advertised via a professional newsletter and journal. The study was conducted with participants from metropolitan, rural and regional areas of two Australian states; New South Wales and Western Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty five perioperative nurse participants with three to 39 years of professional nursing experience informed the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi structured in-depth interviews were undertaken from July 2009 to April 2010 with a mean interview time of 60 min. Interview data was transcribed verbatim and analysed using the constant comparative method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study results draw attention to the complexities that exist for perioperative nurses when participating in multi-organ procurement surgical procedures reporting a basic social psychological problem articulated as hiding behind a mask and how they resolved this problem by the basic social psychological process of finding meaning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides a greater understanding of how these surgical procedures impact on perioperative nurses by providing a substantive theory of this experience. The findings have the potential to guide further research into this challenging area of nursing practice with implications for clinical initiatives, management practices and education.
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Department of Health, WA, Australia; School of Nursing & Midwifery, Griffith University, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: zaneta.smith@bigpond.com.au.
authors.forename: Zaneta
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.affiliation: Mental Health, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wynaden
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D013527:Perioperative Nursing; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement
keywords: Brain-dead donors; DCD donors; Grounded theory; Multi-organ procurement surgery; Organ donation; Perioperative nursing