Mental health nurses' experiences of caring for patients with concurrent disorders in acute inpatient psychiatric care settings in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia

Individuals with concurrent mental health and substance use disorders are frequently admitted to acute urban inpatient psychiatric care settings. Yet, there are gaps in the literature investigating the experiences of point of care mental health nurses caring for this population in these settings. This study seeks to answer the question: “what are the experiences of point of care mental health nurses caring for those with concurrent disorders in acute urban inpatient psychiatric care settings?” Eight participants were recruited for this study from within Metro Vancouver of British Columbia using purposive snowball sampling. Descriptive phenomenology was used to increase the understanding of the shared features of the experiences of these participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) seven procedural steps. From the analysis five major themes emerged: providing care is challenging, patient engagement, support and teamwork, transition from novice to expert, and emotional responses from nurses. The implications of these findings highlight the need for educational curricula and healthcare organizations to better prepare and improve support for our future and current mental health nurses caring for this population.