Perceptions of Ontological Coaching Among Nurses (OCN): A Descriptive Qualitative Study

To examine the perceptions of nurses receiving the Ontological Coaching among Nurses (OCN) intervention in Singapore.

Descriptive qualitative.

Convenience sampling was used to recruit 34 nurses who received OCN intervention and three coaches who provided the intervention. Written informed consent was obtained, and semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were used to collect data, which were then transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Three themes with nine sub-themes were identified. The main themes were: (1) From 'Outlet to Confide': Ontological Coaching as an Enhanced Sense of Fulfilment; (2) Mindset Readiness and Openness for Successful Coaching; and (3) Future Endeavours for Sustainable Coaching Practices.

The findings show that nurses benefitted on personal and professional fronts from receiving coaching. Further evaluations are required to see the potential of using coaching intervention for novice nurses.

As frontline key players in our healthcare system, nurses face a unique set of challenges that impact their psychological well-being. The impact is even more significant for early-to mid-career nurses, leading to poorer quality of life and high turnover rates. This paper highlighted the importance of resources made available to novice and mid-career nurses through coaching. The perceptions of nurses who received coaching intervention serve as a foundation for future studies examining the relevance of ontological coaching in the nursing profession. The nurses' recommendations reported in this paper include building awareness of coaching and incorporating flexibility into coaching programmes to help enhance their readiness to receive and engage with coaching for a more fulfilling coaching experience. Incorporating these recommendations can help inform future coaching-related interventional studies.

This study adhered to COREQ guidelines.

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