Four Months after the Kumamoto Earthquake: Thoughts and Roles of the Head Nurses at Municipal Hospitals that Lost Ability of Hospitalization

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to clarify the thoughts and roles of the head nurses at hospitals, four months after the Kumamoto Earthquake, and to also acquire suggestions to provide support for head nurses. A semi-structured survey was carried out on 5 head nurses, then analyzed qualitatively and inductively. This resulted in 29 subcategories from 188 codes. 9 categories were extracted; pain of working while afflicted by disaster, self-realization as a municipal employee and concern about limitations, efforts as head nurse towards nurses after earthquake, expectations and worries towards reconstruction, hesitation to act as head nurse from experiencing earthquake, realization of future disaster preparation measures, transition work to fulfill role as head nurse, feeling grief as head nurse due to empty time waiting for hospital reconstruction, and wanting a liberally strong message from the Nursing department due to the chaotic period after the earthquake.

The 4-month period after the earthquake was a time of transition while dealing with concerns, despair and a desire to move forward. Head nurses carried many roles but felt as they didn't fulfill them. The Nursing department may need to provide opportunities for head nurses to express their feelings, take approaches to positively grasp the experience of disasters, and provide training not only to improve disaster preparation measures during ordinary times, but also to increase education to enhance roles and resilience as nurses.