workforce
Fed up, ready to go
Survey finds many nurses have pondered leaving the profession, as tough working conditions and lack of support abound.
By Dallas Bastian
Findings that just under a third of all nurses, including aged-care staff, have considered leaving the profession have sparked concern over retention of skilled workers.
A survey revealed a quarter of nurses and midwives felt they were either likely or very likely to leave the profession, while 85 per cent of respondents felt that their jobs required them to work very fast, very hard.
What Nurses & Midwives Want: Findings from the National Survey on Workplace Climate and Well-being, was undertaken by associate professor Peter Holland from Monash Business School, along with Tse Leng Tham and Dr Fenella Gill, who is also a research fellow at Curtin University.
Survey respondents working in aged care reported significantly higher levels of emotional labour and workload issues at their jobs than nurses working in other areas, and were among those who felt that little support and consideration was given to ensure the workplace safety and overall wellbeing of nurses.
One enrolled nurse working in a non-profit residential aged-care facility who took part in the survey said:“ In aged care, there is no [ required ] staff-to-resident ratio, so management keeps cutting nursing staff and even domestic / kitchen workers. Everyone is stressed to breaking point. Management does not care and says‘ go work elsewhere’. [ They ] do not appreciate the work you do.”
An RN working in the sector responded:“ Documentation has taken away handson nursing. Quality patient care is deteriorating due to low staff levels, paper work and poor rostering.”
Another said:“ The only reason I cope with my job as a nurse is because I choose to do fewer hours. Otherwise, I would find it too hard to balance home life with work. Nursing is so draining physically, mentally and emotionally.”
Holland says the research sounds a warning call to those charged with managing this workforce and the healthcare sector.
“ The federal government has indicated we’ re going to have a shortfall of nurses of about 100,000 in a decade,” he says.“ There are concerning issues here about turnover, retention and the long-term capacity of this profession.”
Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation federal secretary Lee Thomas said all employers should be concerned about the survey’ s findings.
“ The areas of most relevance include
32 agedcareinsite. com. au