Exploring how nurses regulate their emotions whilst causing patients’ pain during burns dressing changes

Burns can cause patients significant pain at the time of the initial injury and during consequent treatment. The personal coping strategies used by nurses when inflicting pain during treatment can be a barrier to effective pain management. This thesis therefore investigates how nurses manage their own emotions and distress whilst causing patients’ pain. Part 1 is a conceptual introduction exploring how nurses provide empathic and effective treatment to patients in pain, without becoming too distressed themselves. Research shows that witnessing other people in pain leads to an empathic response in the observer. However, for empathy to lead to prosocial behaviour (the definition of which is influenced by the wider context of nursing culture), rather than personal distress, nurses must effectively regulate their emotions. Part 2 presents a qualitative study of the emotion regulation strategies used by nurses whilst causing patients’ pain during burns dressing changes. Eight adult burns nurses completed semi-structured interviews and an empathy questionnaire. A thematic analysis yielded five themes: Emotions get in the way of being a good nurse; Pain’s an inevitable and justifiable part of treatment and healing; If I’m not made aware of the pain, maybe there is no pain; The pain’s due to other factors, not my actions; and Sometimes it’s too much. Further research is indicated, investigating the effectiveness of the identified emotion regulation strategies for nurses and patients. Part 3 is a critical appraisal reflecting on the process of designing, executing and writing up the research, focusing on how the researcher’s views, beliefs and assumptions about the subject matter changed over time