QUALITATIVE THEMATIC ANALYSIS DOCTORS’ EXPERIENCES OF WORKING IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

At a time when there are rising demands in low- and middle-income nations like Pakistan, where resources present a challenge, an emergency department can be a lifeline but with a lot going on, the struggle of doctors working in this sector has been unresearched. This very carefully conducted thematic analysis study examines themes in the experience of doctors and residents working in an emergency department, compiling data from narratives of participants in this study, semi-structured interviews, focus group studies, and reflective writing conducted between 2023 and 2025. Contributors accessed from reliable sources such as PubMed, KevinMD.com, ResearchGate, the study adopts the inductive Braun and Clarke approach to theme identification, identifying five key themes: overcrowding and patient burden, resource scarcity, violence and insecurity, emotional and psychological impacts, and resilience and professional commitment. A significant finding of this study divulges alarming systemic weaknesses: overcrowding to the extent of corridor medicine, resource scarcity leading to personal spending, violence of over 90% of staff with gender and geographical inequities, burnout of over 60%, and moral distress due to deaths preventable with available care, and yet, the indefatigable resolve of physicians to act as a counter to impending systemic failure at Pakistan's EDs underlines the pressing need for various systemic interventions to enhance healthcare infrastructure, bolster safety, and address mental healthcare needs to promote healthcare system resilience and improve patient care in EDs of LMICs like Pakistan.