Enjoyment in nursing : experiences from the clinical milieu

Aims and objectives: To present findings from a qualitative study which aimed to explore and describe experiences of enjoyment in nursing. Background: The topic of ‘enjoying nursing’ is often part of job satisfaction surveys conducted in the workplace and in some studies it has been found to be the prime reason that nurses stay in the workforce. However, there is little research which explores the concept fully. Design. Qualitative in-depth interviews. Method: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 17 nurses in a local health district in Sydney, Australia. Data from digitally recorded individual interviews were transcribed and the content was analysed for themes relating to aspects of nursing that were enjoyable and others that were not. Results: The major themes to emerge from the data describing enjoyment of nursing were: doing for others, supporting others and educating others. Themes that identified not enjoying nursing were related to the aggression of others, i.e. patients/clients, families or other staff in the workplace, as well as system issues. System issues referred mainly to the need for support from other nurses and management. Conclusion: Nurses still enjoy caring for patients and teaching others to care. This is the reason they remain in nursing even though the system and people are not always supportive or encouraging. Relevance to clinical practice: Managers and educators can use these results to assist them to understand the importance of giving support to nursing staff to optimise their enjoyment of caring for their patients/clients.