Nurses' Experiences Caring for Inpatients Undergoing Psychiatric Care Following Harmful Methamphetamine Use: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study

Nursing staff working in Australian Emergency Departments have reported that methamphetamine-related presentations are confronting and resource intensive. Additionally, psychiatric symptoms are a common component of these presentations. Clinicians have reported that individuals who use methamphetamine are often discharged from the emergency department without adequate psychiatric treatment. Exploring nurses' experiences working with this patient cohort in a psychiatric assessment unit attached to the ED, and again in an acute psychiatric ward has resulted in several insights that could help mitigate methamphetamine-related stigma and are relevant for all nursing staff who may work with patients who use methamphetamine.