To feel emotional concern: A qualitative interview study to explore telephone nurses’ experiences of difficult calls

Abstract

Aim: To describe telenurses’ experiences of difficult calls. Design: A qualitative approach with a descriptive design was used to gain a deeper understanding of the telenurses’ experiences. Methods: The data were collected in spring 2017 through semi-structured interviews with 19 telenurses at call centres and primary healthcare centres and were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results: Becoming emotionally concerned is central to the telenurse’s experiences of difficult calls. Difficult calls are accompanied by feelings such as inadequacy, uncertainty and anxiety, which can be described as emotional tension. Emotional tension refers to situations when the caller’s expressed emotions were conveyed to the telenurses and altered their state of mind. The telenurses stated that difficult calls that cause them to become anxious remain in their thoughts and go through their minds repeatedly, making a deep impression.