Experiences of Nurses Working in a Hospital in an Earthquake Zone: A Descriptive Phenomenological Approach

The aim of this research was to determine the experiences, thoughts and approaches of nurses working in gynecology clinics in a hospital in the disaster area during the earthquake and its aftermath. This study was designed as a descriptive phenomenological qualitative study. 16 nurses were interviewed for the study. The data for this study were collected between May 15, 2024, and August 15, 2024. According to our findings, nurses experienced serious psychological and social difficulties in this earthquake. They stated that they experienced chaos/disorder in the work environment, inadequacy of medicine and medical supplies/unsterile work environment, abnormal increase in the number of patients, working with feelings of hopelessness, fear, pessimism and anxiety, the presence of corpses in the debris, increased expectations of the hospital and patients, and difficulties in the care and treatment of patients with different diagnoses in the same room.