There is a paucity of information addressing strengths, assets, competence or resilience that enable nurses to remain committed to their profession despite the adversities they face in their working environment. The purpose of this research was to explore the resilience of nurses, using the Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) (2003) and to explore and describe how to strengthen the resilience of nurses in a work environment with involuntary mental healthcare users. A multi-method approach, in an exploratory and descriptive design was used. The CD-RISC indicated that nurses are resilient. Narrative responses to two open-ended question - how do you cope to provide mental health care to an involuntary admitted mental healthcare users? and how can your resilience be strengthened to provide mental health care to involuntary mental healthcare users? - yielded coping mechanisms and resilience strengthening strategies. In conclusion, nurses caring for involuntary mental healthcare users are faced with challenging situations while they themselves experience internal conflict and have limited choices available to be assertive. They take pride in their achievements and have passion for their work; they find it difficult making unpopular decisions which affect others and handling unpleasant feelings. To strengthen their resilience, the following factors should be taken into account: support, trained staff, security measures and safety, teamwork and in-service training and education.

Biography:
Rudo Ramalisa is a lecturer in the Vaal University of technology, South Africa. She has completed Masters in Nursing Science and Psychatric nursing.