What are nurses' roles in modern healthcare? A qualitative interview study using interpretive description

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Systems
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Historically, defining nursing work has been challenging.
• This ambiguity complicates staffing and patient care support.
• Understanding nurses' perspectives is vital for effective healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how registered nurses and nursing students understand their work.
• To develop a model interpreting nurses' experiences of their professional roles.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interview study utilizing interpretive description methodology.
• Semi-structured interviews conducted with twenty registered nurses and nursing students.
• Analysis of interview data to construct a model of nursing work.

Main Results:

• Nurses define their work by its systemic role, not discrete tasks.
• Three core roles identified: clinical (patient-facing), managing (sustaining care), and enabling (professional support).
• Adaptability is a constant and essential feature across all nursing roles.

Conclusions:

• Nursing roles (clinical, managing, enabling) collectively support safe patient care and healthcare systems.
• The dynamic nature of nursing necessitates flexible definitions of work.
• The proposed model can aid nurses in articulating their roles and inform workforce policy.