title: The canaries in the coal mine speak: why someone should (and should not) become a nurse.
abstract: Nurses in acute care hospitals are like the canaries used to test for lethal gases in mines--if they remain, the conditions must not be extreme. Staff nurses from 8 states responded to a questionnaire giving reasons why someone should and should not be a nurse. The almost 700 nurses responding reported that many of the reasons one should be a nurse are also the reasons one should not be one (eg, pay/benefits, respect for nursing). Extrinsic factors dominated the reasons to be a nurse, with both intrinsic and extrinsic factors being the reasons not to do so.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Mary_Lynn@unc.edu
authors.forename: Mary R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Lynn
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Redman
authors.forename: Meg G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Zomorodi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D002321:Career Choice; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology