Abstract
D.Cur.
Self-care is vital in promoting the physical and psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers. There are multiple impediments in the South African intensive care units which contribute to self-care not being practised and prioritised by the registered nurses caring for critically ill patients. The multi-layered demands of the critical care patients related to life threatening illnesses resulted in compassion fatigue and stress. The researcher’s previous Master’s Dissertation “Experiences of registered nurses caring for patients with open abdomen” confirmed the need to facilitate self-care of registered nurses caring for critically ill patients. The research question of “What can be done to facilitate self-care of registered nurses caring for critically ill patients?” was formulated. The purpose of the study was to develop, implement and evaluate a model as a frame of reference to facilitate self-care of registered nurses caring for critically ill patients in an intensive care unit in a public hospital in Gauteng. The researcher utilised a theorygenerating, qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design. The four criteria to evaluate trustworthiness in qualitative research were adhered to, to ensure that the findings of the research reflected the truth value of this study: credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. The study followed four steps which were concept analysis, the concepts being placed in relationship statements, the description of the model, and the implementation and evaluation of the model. A one-day workshop was prepared and planned to implement and evaluate the model. A total of six participants aged between 28 and 64 years were interviewed online and three themes emerged during data analysis and supported with the literature control. The benefits which the registered nurses achieved from the implementation of the model include: autonomy, increased self-esteem, empowerment, increased social support, ability to cope with stress and ability to take charge of their self-care.