From outside the walls: a qualitative study of nurses who recently changed from hospital-based practice to home health care nursing.
Acute care facilities are no longer viewed as the center of the health care network. Efforts to reduce hospital length of stay will continue to spur the growth of care delivered in homes. With the downsizing of many hospitals, the need for nurses in acute care settings will decline. Many acute care nurses are finding themselves seeking employment opportunities in home health care settings. The purpose of this study was to examine nurses' experiences when they change from hospital-based practice to home health care nursing. The qualitative mode of inquiry was used to conduct taped-recorded interviews of 25 baccalaureate-prepared nurses in a large metropolitan area. Stressors experienced by the nurses were identified as well as adaptations required to minimize role stress. Continuing education programs can provide information and skills needed to improve nurses' competencies to function in a health care system projected to be more community-based, which includes home health care.
Murray
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Barnes College of Nursing, University of Missouri-Saint Louis 63121, USA.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002322:Career Mobility; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires