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Nursing and the nursing workplace in Q ueensland, 2001–2010: What the nurses think
Author(s) -
Eley Robert,
Francis Karen,
Hegney Desley
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of nursing practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1440-172X
pISSN - 1322-7114
DOI - 10.1111/ijn.12182
Subject(s) - workforce , nursing , workload , staffing , skill mix , economic shortage , work (physics) , medicine , job satisfaction , psychology , health care , political science , government (linguistics) , management , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , law , economics , engineering , social psychology
The purpose of the study was to inform policy for reform in nursing. A survey mailed to members of the Q ueensland N urses' U nion four times between 2001 and 2010 elicited views on their employment and working conditions, professional development and career opportunities. Results across years and sectors of nursing consistently showed dissatisfaction in many aspects of employment, particularly by nurses working in aged care. However, views on staffing numbers, skill mix, workload, work stress, pay and staff morale all showed significant improvements over the decade. For example in 2001, 48.8% of nurses believed that their pay was poor, whereas in 2010, this had reduced to 35.2%. Furthermore, there was a significant rise throughout the decade in the opinion of the value of nursing as a good career. In light of the need to address nurse workforce shortages, the trends are encouraging; however, more improvements are required in order to support recruitment and retention.