"The pure hard slog that nursing is...": a qualitative analysis of nursing work

dc.contributor.authorBogossian, F.
dc.contributor.authorWinters-Chang, P.
dc.contributor.authorTuckett, A.
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractPurpose: To explore nurses' perceptions of the nature of nursing work as a factor that contributes to attrition from the profession. Design: A nonpurposive sample of nurses from the Nurses and Midwives e-cohort Study in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom provided electronic responses about reasons for leaving the profession. Data were then subjected to qualitative content analysis. Findings: Nurses at the "coal face," that is, those who actually do the work of nursing, in real working conditions, express dissatisfaction in relation to hygiene factors relating to the nature of nursing work and attribute these to nurses leaving the profession: workload, shift work, violence, and financial remuneration. Conclusions: Nurses' satisfaction with work and motivation to work are being sorely tested. There is manifest tension between the core concepts of nursing-compassion and care-and a system of work that actively precludes nurses from being able to exhibit these virtues and fails to reward them. Workload, shift work, violence, and financial remuneration are drivers of attrition and need to be addressed. Clinical Relevance: Implications from this study are fourfold: determination of nursing workload, mitigating the impact of shift work, providing safe work environments, and adequate financial remuneration.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityFiona Bogossian, Peta Winters-Chang, Anthony Tuckett
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Nursing Scholarship, 2014; 46(5):377-388
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/jnu.12090
dc.identifier.issn1527-6546
dc.identifier.issn1547-5069
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/105747
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP0562102
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/2005002108
dc.rights© 2014 Sigma Theta Tau International
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12090
dc.subjectNursing; workload; violence; remuneration; shift work
dc.title"The pure hard slog that nursing is...": a qualitative analysis of nursing work
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files