Career change among Rwandan nurses

Abstract

Career change among Rwandan nurses has compromised patient care and has affected the cost of health care services in Rwanda. The purpose of the study was to explore some of the reasons given by the Rwandan nurses about career change. A quantitative exploratory design was used. A sample size of eighty-eight (88) nurses was purposively selected using the snowballing technique, within the CAMERWA and RAMA organizations. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that contained both closed and open-ended questions. Data were analysed by SPSS 13.0 for windows. Quantitative analysis revealed that job dissatisfaction related to poor salaries, lack of professional growth and nursing management are major driving forces to career change among Rwanda nurses. Some respondents reported that nursing has never been their career choice and hence have no desire to continue being nurses. The study concluded that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributed to career change among the Rwandan nurses. Factors related to the work environment rather than individual factors were of importance to nurses need for a career change.