Shifting Compasses: A Qualitative Study of Lived Experiences Driving Perioperative Nurses to Leave the Profession Post COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, perioperative nurses faced extraordinary demands in frontline roles, leading many to leave their positions. This study investigates the factors influencing their decisions to resign or change roles during or after the pandemic, providing insights into systemic, ethical, and emotional contributors to professional attrition. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted at a university hospital in Spain between December 2021 and March 2022. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to analyze the lived experiences of perioperative nurses who worked during the pandemic and subsequently resigned or changed role. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews and analyzed using Atlas.ti (version 22). Ethical issues such as

SUBMITTER: Sillero Sillero A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11855720 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature