Table 1 An example of an analysis

Interview was recorded and transcribed

I was in the central infection ward where the coronavirus patients were, in my protective clothing and shields, gloves, and goggles which I had been wearing for 6 h on my shift. I was soaked with sweat and the spots where my face shield and glasses were pressing on my face and ears were killing me.

I’d never been exposed to this much tension at work.

Annoying work clothes

Much work tension

Working in difficult conditions

Stress at work

psychological tension

Member checking was done. To do this, the extracted concepts and themes were submitted to 4 participants who confirmed that the findings were in line with their understandings and interpretations.

There were more and more patients and their conditions were getting worse and worse.

I’d been in the hospital since yesterday and the sudden increase in our workload was a huge shock to me.

A lot of patients with worse conditions

Sudden increase in workload

High workload