An exploratory study into the experience of part-time nurse teachers compared to full-time nurse teachers.
The part-time labour force, in nursing as elsewhere, is often unacknowledged, or conveniently assumed to have lesser commitment than the full-time labour force (Davies 1990). This paper reports the findings of an ethnographic study of five part-time nurse teachers and five full-time nurse teachers, which explored whether organisational and other constraints experienced by five part-time nurse teachers at one college of nursing, were the same for full-time nurse teachers. Four major themes emerged from the findings. Three constraints were identified by both part-time and full-time members, and they were related to issues of communication networks, valuing colleagues, and the results of coercive psychological contracts. The full-time teachers experienced these constraints but apparently to a lesser degree. The fourth theme was related to part-time teachers only. They identified that the flexibility of part-time hours enabled them to make compromises between their professional and other roles. The results of this study suggest that there is a need for part-time and full-time nurse teachers to work together in a collaborative manner, so that they are able to negotiate local working arrangements.
Wareham
P L
PL
EIHMS University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D013997:Time Factors; D016526:Workload