Dependency in autonomous caring--night nurses' working conditions for caring in nursing

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Social Care
• Gerontology

Background:

• Limited research exists on night nurses' working conditions in municipal social care settings.
• Swedish municipal care involves nurses overseeing numerous older adults, impacting direct patient interaction.
• Ethical nursing practice emphasizes caring encounters, which are challenged by current working conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore Swedish municipal night nurses' experiences with their working conditions.
• To understand how these conditions affect the provision of nursing care.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with 7 municipal night nurses.
• Six nurses also provided diary entries.
• Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Nurses described experiences related to organizational dependency, vocational responsibility, deficient care conditions, and autonomous caring.
• The primary role identified was that of a consultant, leading to less bedside care.
• This consultancy role facilitated addressing complex issues but could result in short-term solutions and deficient care.

Conclusions:

• Working conditions for municipal night nurses present both advantages and disadvantages for care provision.
• The consultant role may hinder direct, ethical bedside nursing care.
• Nurses may struggle to meet ethical demands due to prevailing working conditions.