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Retaining professional nurses in South Africa: Nurse managers’ perspectives
Abstract
An exploratory, descriptive, contextual and qualitative design was used to describe nurse managers’views on factors which could influence professional nurse retention, as well as their views regarding attributes that were required to enable them to contribute towards enhancing professional nurse retention. A purposive sample of nurse managers employed in public and private hospitals in the Gauteng province was selected. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nurse managers.The results were analysed qualitatively and contextualised within Vogt, Cox, Velthouse and Thames’s Cork-Top (Bottleneck) Theory of Nurse Retention (1983) and Lewin’s Force-Field Analysis Theory (1952).
Factors pertaining to individual nurses, the organisation and nurse managers could influence the retention of professional nurses. Poor working conditions, long and inconvenient working hours,uncompetitive salaries and professional development of nurses have to be addressed to enhance professional nurses’ retention. Unsafe working environments and a lack of resources threaten the safety and well-being of nurses and patients and contribute to high turnover rates. Nurse managers have to address shortcomings in their managerial and leadership skills and implement changes within a multigenerational nursing workforce and challenging working environments.
Opsomming
Suid-Afrika ervaar ’n ernstige tekort aan verpleegkundiges wat aangespreek moet word ten einde krisisse in gesondheidsorgdienste te voorkom. Vorige studies (Fletcher 2001:324; Oosthuizen 2005:117) het bevind dat verpleegkundiges hulle werksomgewing verander as gevolg van ontevredenheid met hulle werksituasies. Dit impliseer dat die daarstelling van ’n gunstige omgewing in die werkpleksituasie, kan help om professionele verpleegkundiges in hulle poste te behou, wat beteken dat retensiestrategieë doeltreffend moet wees.
’n Verkennende, beskrywende, kontekstuele, kwalitatiewe ontwerp was gebruik om verpleegbestuurders se sienings te bekom, oor faktore wat professionele verpleegkundiges se retensie kan beïnvloed, asook hulle sienings omtrent vereiste hoedanighede wat hulle in staat sou stel om professionele verpleegkundiges se retensie te bevorder. ’n Doelgerigte steekproef van verpleegbestuurders in openbare en private hospitale in die Gauteng provinsie is gekies. Semigestruktureerde onderhoude is met 21 verpleegbestuurders gevoer. Die resultate is kwalitatief ontleed en gekontekstualiseer volgens Vogt, Cox, Velthouse en Thames se Kurkprop Bottelnek(Cork-Top Bottleneck) Teorie van Verpleegretensie (1983) en Lewin se Kragveld Analise Teorie(1952).
Faktore met betrekking tot individuele verpleegkundiges, die organisasie en verpleegbestuurders kan die retensie van professionele verpleegkundiges beïnvloed. Swak werksomstandighede,lang en ongerieflike werksure, nie-mededingende salarisse en professionele ontwikkeling van verpleegkundiges moet aangespreek word om professionele verpleegkundiges se retensie te bevorder. Onveilige werksomgewings en ’n gebrek aan hulpbronne bedreig die veiligheid en die welsyn van verpleegkundiges en pasiënte en dra by tot hoë omsetsyfers. Verpleegbestuurders moet die tekortkominge in hulle bestuurs- en leierskapsvaardighede aanspreek en veranderinge implementeer binne ’n multigenerasie verpleegwerkkrag en uitdagende werksomgewings.
Keywords: baby boomers; generation X; generation Y; nurse retention; silent generation
