Right in it: The experiences of South Australian COVID-19 quarantine medihotel nurses

Background

Until late 2021, mandatory quarantine for travellers returning to Australia was an important part of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Australia, a nurse-led quarantine medihotel model was used.

Aim

To explore the lived experiences of nurses who worked in South Australian quarantine medihotels at the height of the pandemic.

Methods

The study employed a qualitative research design using van Manen’s phenomenology of practice method.

Findings

Four themes emerged: united on the frontline, moving in sync with traveller’s needs, the paradox of being yet not being right in it, and feeling let down by organisational systems. These themes emerged from the organisational structures, work design, and public understanding of the COVID-19 risk.

Discussion

Clashing priorities of the travellers and the organisation, travellers’ physical and psychological adjustments to quarantine, and substantial public anxiety around COVID-19 contributed to high levels of stress experienced by the quarantine medihotel nurses and presented challenges to uphold an image of nursing as a caring profession. Understanding, which was driven by novel ways of multi-agency problem-solving and compassionate provision of care, made it possible for nurses to act authentically and in ways congruent with their professional values.

Conclusion

Cross-functional teams will be required when responding to increasingly more complex problems, including future pandemics. Enhancing cross-functional leadership capacity through support and skills development promotes frontline pandemic nurses’ response capability.

Opportunity exists to learn from the nurse’s experiences, mitigate the negative mental health impact, and support the longer-term wellbeing of the quarantine medihotel nurses.