Improving postoperative nursing care in an International Committee of the Red Cross supported hospital in Nigeria: A qualitative study

• Hospital nursing team`s adherence to guidelines and routines were vital to carry out quality postoperative nursing care. • Collaborative learning and adapting in emergency situations were important aspects. • Studying nursing team in situ provided valuable knowledge on how quality care can be maintained and improved. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) started a surgical project in a hospital in northeast Nigeria in 2015. The project aimed to provide life- and limb-saving surgery to internally displaced people or direct victims of ongoing violence. To develop knowledge on how nursing teams work to maintain and improve quality postoperative nursing care in an ICRC-supported state hospital in northeast Nigeria. This study applied an explorative, qualitative research design. The data were collected in an ICRC supported hospital ward in northeast Nigeria in 2024 during a 28-hour overt participant observation period and through 10 individual semi-structured interviews. The data were subjected to qualitative thematic analyses. The data analysis revealed two main themes. The first theme entailed “the idea of practicing ideal nursing care,” that is, the nurse’s opportunities to conduct quality postoperative nursing care by complying with planned practical tasks related to guidelines and routines. This theme also involved adapting to various changes and challenges to maintain and improve postoperative nursing care. The second theme, “competence development,” highlighted the importance of learning and working together as well as continuously monitoring staff and care provision. Findings provide valuable knowledge about how quality postoperative nursing care is maintained and improved through guidelines, routines, and collaborative learning. Adaptation to challenges was revealed to be an important aspect in building resilient postoperative care. More research is needed to investigate how nurse teams‘ adaptions in an ICRC-supported hospital ward may lead to sustainable postoperative nursing care.