Publication date: Feb 01, 2025

This study aims to understand the lived experiences of nurse practitioners (NPs) providing patient care during a nursing strike in a hospital setting. The nursing shortage afflicts the provision of health care. A recurring loss of seasoned nurses represents a loss of expertise and organizational knowledge, leading to internal burnout, inadequate resources, and recently, nursing strikes. Many strikes have occurred in health care, yet little is known about NPs experiences when caring for patients during nursing strikes. A qualitative research design included personal interviews. Snowball sampling included identification of an initial key informant meeting inclusion criteria, followed by subsequent requests to refer other potentially eligible individuals. Interviews (n = 10) contained candid stories about primarily negative experiences creating moral and ethical dilemmas for NPs. Content analysis identified five themes: a) What do I do? b) We didn’t know it was coming, c) COVID-19 caused it, d) It put our patients at risk, and e) I never want this to happen again. Experienced, older NPs tended to disagree with nursing strikes while younger, less experienced NPs expressed greater support of the strike. Results call attention to NPs concerns while providing guidance for those preparing for these events. NPs experiences reflected moral and ethical dilemmas impacting patient care. Recommendations include integration of information via professional, educational programming to address these ethical and moral dilemmas. Incorporating a framework for management of ethical dilemmas and offering insights regarding expectations should one be required to practice during a nursing strike, is recommended.

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