Self-Perceived Roles of Cardiac Surgery Nurses in Shaping Patient and Family Surgical Hope: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study

Cardiac surgery patients and their families often hold overly optimistic expectations of recovery, which can lead to psychological distress, conflict, and dissatisfaction with care when outcomes do not match hopes. In China, these challenges are intensified by strong family involvement in decision‑making, hierarchical physician–nurse relationships, and cultural taboos around disclosing poor prognoses. Cardiac surgery ward nurses are centrally positioned to mediate between surgical realities and patients’ and families’ hopes, yet their self‑perceived roles in this process remain underexplored. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences and self‑perceived roles of cardiac surgery ward nurses in shaping and managing patients’ and families’ surgical hopes within the Chinese socio‑clinical context. A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was used. Purposive sampling recruited 10 ward‑based cardiac surgery nurses from a tertiary hospital in Jiangsu Province, China, who participated in in‑depth semi‑structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven‑step method to identify the essential structure of nurses’ experiences. Four themes captured their roles: (1) influence of others on nurses at work, (2) nurses’ role cognition, (3) working practice system of nurses, and (4) ideal role model. From these themes, the Contextualized Surgical Expectation–Hope Mediation (C‑SEHM) Model was developed, depicting expectation management as a dynamic, culturally embedded practice shaped by interpersonal, organizational, and societal forces. The findings highlight nurses’ complex and often invisible expectation–hope mediation under significant emotional and structural constraints and point to the need for training, clearer role delineation, and institutional supports to sustain this work.