Perry, JosephineKitson, Alison LydiaMewett, Sharon Ann2015-10-092015-10-092013http://hdl.handle.net/2440/95130Background: Current literature concludes that a global nursing shortage has a profound impact on the workplace, consumers of healthcare, on recruitment, professional development, job satisfaction and retention. In Australia, as in worldwide, the specialty of perioperative nursing has been identified as one of the key areas suffering these issues. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate nurse recruitment, retention and job satisfaction within the specialty of perioperative nursing. Method: A total of 8 registered nurses (RN’s) currently practicing in the perioperative field, located at an outer metropolitan healthcare facility, participated in the study. The design that was used for the study was an interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological method that was informed by van Manen (1990). Instruments with auditable reliability and validity were used for data collection. The sample’s characteristics reported in this thesis, were similar to the demographic characteristics described in recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports and were of sufficient scale and scope to provide a reliable and thorough picture of the phenomena of recruitment, job satisfaction and retention among perioperative nurses. Results: Through taped interviews and subsequent analysis to detect patterns and themes, the study findings demonstrated that South Australian perioperative nurses are experiencing moderate to high levels of dissatisfaction in the workplace. Furthermore, many of the participants’ additional comments locate the major source of their dissatisfaction as organisational and professional issues. Findings also indicated an intention to remain working in nursing and in particular the perioperative specialty, only in regards to the proximity of work to home and general convenience. Conclusions: The results of this study provide an interpretive description of, and some personal perspectives of SA perioperative nurses’ current job satisfaction and their intention to leave the specialty. These findings have ramifications for management in the development of strategies aimed at improving the job satisfaction, and ultimately the retention of nurses within the specialty of perioperative nursing.coursework; perioperative; nurse; retentionThesis20150811115207