title: "The pure hard slog that nursing is . . .": a qualitative analysis of nursing work.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore nurses' perceptions of the nature of nursing work as a factor that contributes to attrition from the profession.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nonpurposive sample of nurses from the Nurses and Midwives e-cohort Study in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom provided electronic responses about reasons for leaving the profession. Data were then subjected to qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nurses at the "coal face," that is, those who actually do the work of nursing, in real working conditions, express dissatisfaction in relation to hygiene factors relating to the nature of nursing work and attribute these to nurses leaving the profession: workload, shift work, violence, and financial remuneration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses' satisfaction with work and motivation to work are being sorely tested. There is manifest tension between the core concepts of nursing-compassion and care-and a system of work that actively precludes nurses from being able to exhibit these virtues and fails to reward them. Workload, shift work, violence, and financial remuneration are drivers of attrition and need to be addressed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implications from this study are fourfold: determination of nursing workload, mitigating the impact of shift work, providing safe work environments, and adequate financial remuneration.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Director of Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bogossian
authors.forename: Peta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Winters-Chang
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuckett
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D002321:Career Choice; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009520:New Zealand; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009729:Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D006113:United Kingdom; D014754:Violence; D016526:Workload
keywords: Nursing; remuneration; shift work; violence; workload