"THROUGH THE YEARS": THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF WEATHERED PSYCHIATRIC NURSES AT LEVEL III DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HOSPITAL: BASIS FOR AN INTERVENTION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

This study, titled "Through the Years”: The Lived Experience of Weathered Psychiatric Nurses at Level III Department of Health Hospital: Basis for an Intervention Enhancement Program, explored the lived experience of weathered psychiatric nurses who had been exposed to the unique demands of psychiatric wards. The research adopted a phenomenological approach, combined with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to examine the challenges, resilience, and coping mechanisms of nurses with extensive professional exposure in providing mental health care. Workplace violence, administrative challenges, and emotional stressors of nurses are issues that prevail but were often not discussed. This study aimed to point out the existence of these factors. The results identified 16 core themes with regard to professional stressors, emotional costs, and coping mechanisms. From these results, several intervention programs are recommended: Critical Incident Training and Support Programs, Emotional Resilience Workshops, Workplace Relationship Enhancement Programs, and Spiritual Counseling initiatives. These interventions were designed to address some critical issues, such as workplace violence, emotional burnout, interpersonal conflicts, and workload management. This study provided important insights for policymakers, hospital administrators, and mental health practitioners, with the goal toward the improvement of job satisfaction, mental health, and retention rates through improving the quality of psychiatric care.