Nurses Face High Physical, Cognitive Load in Trauma Surgery

To examine the lived experiences of operating room nurses managing critical multiple and combined trauma.

Nurses reported substantial technical, collaborative, and psychological demands in trauma surgery.
Four major themes emerged: professional challenges and emergency response, value and dilemmas of team collaboration, psychological stress and coping strategies, and professional growth and support needs.
Emergency response capability was crucial, with experienced nurses preparing instruments in advance.
Team collaboration was essential, but communication conflicts and delayed staffing support were reported.
Nurses experienced psychological stress linked to exposure to severe injuries.

Sample size of 15 nurses from a single institution may limit generalizability.
Qualitative nature of the study reflects participant experiences rather than quantitative measures.
Experiences were not analyzed by trauma type or urgency level.