Professional insights from nurses who are carers for family with chronic illness: A phenomenological approach

Background The incidence of chronic illness is growing globally and nurses within the family circle often fulfil a caring role for relatives who are chronically ill. Registered nurses who are also carers have a unique vantage point to evaluate healthcare provision. Aim This study aimed to develop insights into healthcare provision from understanding the lived experience of participants who were family carer and professional nurse. Methods This paper is drawn from a larger phenomenological study that explored the lived experience of fifteen registered nurses who cared for family who had a chronic illness. Unstructured interviews of one hour duration were used as the method of data collection to enable thematic analysis of the findings within the context of Heideggerian philosophy. Findings The research identified that participants held three distinctive ways of being a nurse and family carer while at the bedside of their chronically ill family member. During the critical times of exacerbation and hospitalisation, the carer who is also a nurse, has professional and personal insights which enable them to; navigate healthcare systems to access care, progress through hospital safely and build pathways towards discharge. Discussion and conclusion In contrast to much of the previous literature, which has focused upon the needs of nurses who are family carers, this paper focuses upon the contributions that participants can make to the nursing profession and the wider health industry. Understanding the contribution that carers can make to patient safety and improved health outcomes may bring focus and purpose to the implementation of care for the chronically ill. Participants developed insights into healthcare provision from repeated exposure through multiple admissions and this repository of knowledge may have previously been overlooked.