Elsevier

Collegian

Volume 23, Issue 1, March 2016, Pages 87-95
Collegian

Why nurses chose to remain in the workforce: Portraits of resilience

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2014.12.001Get rights and content

Summary

Aim

This study explored why nurses chose to remain in the Western Australian workforce and to develop insights into the role of resilience of nurses and to identify the key characteristics of resilience displayed by these nurses.

Background

Nursing is a stressful profession. Prolific quantitative research which measures job stress and resilience has been implemented; however, there is a dearth of qualitative studies which hear the personal narratives as to why nurses remain and thrive in a stressful workplace.

Design/methods

Vignettes of nursing resilience reveal underlying themes of resilience where personal stories and events are presented as narrative. Portraiture recognises the inherent value of the nurses’ stories giving attention to the nature of their resilience. Interpretation illuminates the portraits or verbal canvasses of the told experience, reflecting success and positivity despite disarray in healthcare settings.

Results/findings

Eight themes were identified. The portraits highlight a sometimes imperceptible theme of resilience within nursing. Nurses are resilient; they rely on the social support of colleagues, family and friends to continue to bear their mantle of responsibility. They take pride in their work and accomplishments and give to others altruistically. They laugh, they love nursing and they keep the needs of their patients, clients, residents or students foremost.

Conclusion

This paper describes the hallmarks of resilience demonstrated by nurses. Resilience and its relationship to coping in times of adversity are captured within the portraits presented.

Section snippets

Introduction and background

The health service in Australia, as in many developed countries, is under pressure from tight financial resourcing and other socio-political factors. Nurses form the largest occupational group of the health workforce. Like the health workforce in general, the nursing workforce is ageing and the effects of retiring baby boomers is already being felt placing the work environment and the profession itself under pressure.

The loss of experienced registered nurses, in light of difficulties of

Resilience

Most commonly, the term resilience has come to mean an individual's ability to overcome adversity and continue his or her normal development (Siebert, 2008), or as defined in the seminal work of Masten (1994) as “a pattern over time, characterised by good eventual adaptation despite developmental risk, acute stressors, or chronic adversities” (p. 141). Thus, if resilience is the ability of an individual to adjust positively to adversity, then insights into the resilience of nurses are important

Aim

The aim of the study was to explore why nurses chose to remain in the Western Australian workforce; to develop insights into the role of resilience of nurses to manage the context of nursing work; and, to identify the key characteristics of resilience displayed by those nurses.

Design

Portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1983) a descriptive and interpretive method enabled a search for the essence and meaning of resilience to the nurses in this study. It allowed for the understanding of their everyday

Findings and discussion

Eight themes or brush strokes were revealed from participant's portraits demonstrating resilience: managing self; focusing on the positive; valuing social support; paying it forward; a passion for the profession; the taking on of challenge; experiencing adversity and growing through it; and, leadership.

Summary

The portraits of participants captured key themes or attributes of nurse's resilience. The portraits were indicative of personal attributes displayed by each participant.

A framework of resilience and the language of human strengths is the scaffold that these participants built upon to cope with the disarray of the system in which they worked. Resilience was associated with personal optimism, hope and positive changes, and adaptations made to learn from and move through challenge and adversity.

Conclusion

The major themes uncovered by the nine portraits included personal qualities of self- control, focusing on the positive with perseverance and hope, trust and a love of learning, the sense of accomplishment that comes from the confronting a challenge, the importance of ‘paying it forward’ and the related volunteerism and opportunity for involvement to help and assist others. This is achieved with a sense of humour, with robust assertiveness, self-regulatory skills, peer group belonging and

Summary statement

Why is this research or review needed?

  • The nursing workforce is a workforce under pressure due to rapidly increasing turnover of more acutely ill or co-morbid patients, and staff retention issues which place those staff that remain, under extra pressure to maintain a quality service.

  • Evidence suggests that nursing students are often not adequately prepared for the work that is nursing which challenges nursing educators to better prepare nurses for sustained professional resilience by providing

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