Det svårt sjuka barnet : Intensivvårdssjuksköterskans upplevelser av att vårda barn på en allmänintensivvårdsavdelning

Sammanfattning: Background: The capacity in the country's pediatric intensive care units is limited, which means that a large number of children are cared for in general intensive units. Intensive care nurses must be able to care for all patients with failure in one or more organs and be able to assess changes in the patient's condition. The care of children differs from the adult patient in several ways. For the intensive care nurse, it can be an inexperienced situation. Previous research describes the perspective of nurses in the pediatric intensive care unit and parents of a sick child, as well as children's experiences of being a patient. Aim: The aim is to describe intensive care nurses experiences of caring for children up to the age of seven years in a general intensive care unit. Method: A qualitative interview study with inductive approach. Eight intensive care nurses from a intensive care unit in Mellansverige participated. Data was analysed using manifest content analysis. Results: The results are presented in two categories; “Being in an unusual situation” and “Meeting the child’s needs with the family as a resource”, each category has two subcategories. Conclusion: Intensive care nurses experience the care of children as challenging. A common thread in the result is to work from the child's perspective and needs. The theoretical perspective is prominent in the result although the concept of child centered care is not mentioned. The need for knowledge and experience is clearly prominent in intensive care nurses which demonstrates the importance of competence development within the area of operation.