Lyrical Witness: Poetic Inquiry Into Nurses’ Emotional and Ethical Worlds

Abstract

This study explores the emotional and ethical dimensions of nursing practice through poetic inquiry. Drawing on 42 publicly accessible poems authored by nurses during and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the research investigates how verse serves as a medium for reflection, resistance, and relational meaning-making in clinical contexts. The central aim was to identify recurring themes that capture the affective labor, moral dilemmas, identity formation, and small triumphs experienced by nurses in their day-to-day practice. Using a six-phase thematic poetic analysis grounded in arts-based and interpretivist methodologies, the study employed purposive and snowball sampling to curate a diverse poetic corpus from blogs, social media, and online literary platforms. Poems were coded inductively using NVivo 12 software, preserving their literary integrity while surfacing thematic patterns. Four major themes emerged: Emotional Labor and Compassion Fatigue, Moral Courage and Ethical Conflict, Identity and Vocational Calling, and Small Triumphs and Healing Moments. Each theme revealed a dynamic spectrum of both emotional burden and resilience, underscoring the multidimensional nature of caregiving. The findings demonstrate that poetry enables nurses to bear witness to their lived realities in ways that traditional research tools often fail to capture. Poetic inquiry contributes to narrative ethics, reflective practice, and humanistic nursing education by legitimizing emotional knowledge and offering expressive space for what is often unspeakable in clinical settings. This study invites educators, practitioners, and policymakers to consider poetry not merely as a creative outlet but as a rigorous qualitative method that deepens understanding of the interior landscapes of care.