Arbeidsforhold ved norske sykehjem — idealer og realiteter

Abstract

Modernization of public services has put nurses in a new situation, with increasing demands and limited resources. The aim of this project is to describe how nurses' job situation in nursing homes has changed, and examine how older graduated nurses cope with the demands they are facing in their work situation. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with twenty-two nurses older than fifty-six years, either still working in a nursing home, or recently retired. I found that nurses working in nursing homes today have to deal with endless needs combined with limited resources. To cope with this situation, they use different strategies. Some nurses try to live up to the professions high ethical standards by working overtime and dropping breaks i.e. Others have accepted that limited resources reduce their ability to live up to these ethical standards. They no longer identify themselves with these standards, due to the lack of sufficient resources.