Narrating care during the COVID-19 pandemic in a paediatric emergency department

ABSTRACT

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic led to high patient loads in many hospitals. However, paediatric emergency departments (EDs) saw a dramatic decrease in admissions, mainly due to the fear of contracting COVID-19 in hospitals. Moreover, paediatric EDs were required to reorganise their services rapidly to deal with the pandemic. We aimed to describe the experiences of healthcare professionals (HPs) working in a paediatric ED in Italy during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic through reflective practice.

Twenty-six HPs (16 attending paediatricians, 5 residents, 5 paediatric registered nurses) wrote a single, comprehensive text, in which they reflected on their experiences of care during the first wave of the pandemic. The study was framed within narrative medicine as a means for reflective practice.

We identified six main themes: the enemy is about to burst in and to sweep us away, raised fences against the enemy, the meaning of time, getting caught in the storm, being and staying in spaces, and the work unrecognisably transformed. Our findings reflect how profoundly HPs’ lives changed, inside and outside the hospital, during the first wave of the pandemic. Narration was useful in helping HPs deal with personal issues brought on by the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Paediatrics
• emergency department
• covid-19
• pandemic
• reflective practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barbara De Vito

Barbara De Vito is an emergency paediatrician at Regina Margherita Children Hospital of Torino. Her main interests are neuropsychiatric emergency, narrative medicine and bioethics.

Emanuele Castagno

Emanuele Castagno is an emergency paediatrician and a researcher on topics related to the paediatric emergency. His main interests are pain management and bioethics.

Emanuela Garrone

Emanuela Garrone is an emergency paediatrician at Regina Margherita Children Hospital of Torino. Her main interests encompass cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies.

Irene Tardivo

Irene Tardivo is an emergency paediatrician at Regina Margherita Children Hospital of Torino. She is an expert trainer on paediatric emergencies and advanced simulation techniques.

Alessio Conti

Alessio Conti is a postdoctoral researcher in Nursing at the University of Torino. His research interests include rehabilitation nursing, disability, and nursing education.

Michela Luciani

Michela Luciani is a postdoctoral researcher in Nursing at the University of Milano – Bicocca. Her research interests include self-care, stigma, and qualitative research methods.

Antonio Francesco Urbino

Antonio Francesco Urbino is the head of the Department of Pediatric Emergency at Regina Margherita ChildrenHospital of Torino. He is the past president of the Italian Society of Pediatric Emergency (SIMEUP).

Lorenza Garrino

Lorenza Garrino is a retired Assistant Professor in Nursing at the University of Turin. She has been a board member of the Italian Society of Medical Education (SIPeM) since 2003. Her main research interests encompass narrative medicine and the use of filmography in nursing education.

Valerio Dimonte

Valerio Dimonte is a full professor in Nursing at the University of Torino. His main research interests are nursing education and dance-movement therapy.