Career commitment and entrenchment among Primary Care nurses.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Occupational Psychology
• Healthcare Workforce Studies

Background:

• Understanding career commitment and entrenchment is crucial for retaining nurses in primary care settings.
• Primary care nursing roles face unique challenges that may influence career progression and job satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the levels of career commitment and career entrenchment among primary care nurses.
• To identify the key factors contributing to commitment and entrenchment in this professional group.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 involving primary care nurses in São Paulo, Brazil.
• Validated Career Commitment and Entrenchment Scales (12 items each) were utilized.
• The scales assessed identity, resilience, and planning for commitment; and emotional costs, investments, and limitation of career alternatives for entrenchment.

Main Results:

• Primary care nurses reported higher mean scores for career commitment (61.4) than for career entrenchment (57.8).
• The identity factor of commitment was high (70.9), while resilience and career planning were at medium levels.
• Career entrenchment factors, including investments, limitation of alternatives, and emotional costs, were all at medium levels.

Conclusions:

• Primary care nurses exhibit a stronger relationship with career commitment compared to career entrenchment.
• Nurses demonstrated a greater degree of professional identification and positive engagement with their careers than feelings of stagnation.