Objective: To understand the experiences of intensive care unit nurses who provide care to patients with COVID-19.
Methods: Qualitative study grounded in Alfred Schütz's social phenomenology in which 20 nurses who work in intensive care units at public and private hospitals were interviewed between July and September 2020. Data were analyzed according to the adopted theoretical-methodological framework and the literature related to the subject.
Results: The interviewed nurses mentioned demands about working conditions, professional recognition and training, and support to physical and mental health, which proved necessary considering the care intensity experienced by these professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion: Learning the nurses' experiences evidenced the need to adjust to a new way of providing care that included the physical space, new institutional protocols, continuous use of protective equipment, and patients' demand for special care. This originated the necessity to be around situations that interfered with their health and motivated them to carry out professional projects after the COVID-19 pandemic.