Lived experiences of medical ICU nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in Metro Manila / Julian Tyrell Glen C. Ayangco, Kay Athena N. Cabilao, Gabrielle Elaine Caicdoy Candelaria, Vivien E. Torrecampo.

The researchers aim to describe the lived experiences of medical ICU nurses caring for COVID-19 patients, to explore the positive and negative emotions as well as recognize and tackle various barriers, stressors and the coping mechanisms of the MICU nurses, in order to have an in-depth understanding of what the MICU nurses are going through. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized by the researchers to better understand the experiences of the four informants through an in-depth interview. The informants were selected through a purposive sampling technique wherein certain criteria were used in order for the researchers to select out their key informants.
The data gathered from the informants were thoroughly examined using Colaizzi’s method of analysis which enabled the researchers to formulate seven themes from the data; these themes are as follows: Modern Day Heroes: Positivity Always Wins, Ala Mort: Half-Dead of Exhaustion, The Clash of Feelings: Bearing The Burden of Mind and Body, Enshrouded in Darkness and Remaining Beacons of Light, The Art of Nursing One Page at A Time, Integral Bond of Bonds: Synergism of Souls, and lastly The Triangle of Life: To Survive and Live Life; The emergence of these themes provides an in-depth discussion into the different experiences of the informants.