Negotiating the boundary between paid and unpaid hospice workers: a qualitative study of how hospice volunteers understand their work.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the nurse-volunteer relationship in a day hospice.


METHODS
Underpinned by an interpretive approach, face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 day hospice volunteers.


RESULTS
The nature and dynamics of the relationship between nursing staff and volunteers within the day hospice were characterized by increasing formality and changes in the division of labor, which challenged smooth working relationships.


CONCLUSIONS
Volunteers see their role as becoming increasingly formalized partly as a response to increasing administrative demands on hospice nurses. The willingness of volunteers to take on new roles is variable. For volunteers to feel secure and valued and working relationships to remain strong, the process of how boundaries between paid and unpaid workers are negotiated needs to be transparent.
Division of Nursing, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
Sarah E
SE
Field-Richards
Antony
A
Arthur
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012380:Role; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult