Career commitment and entrenchment among Primary Care nurses.

Luciano Garcia Lourenção,Marli Dos Santos Rosa Moretti,Natália Sperli Geraldes Marin Dos Santos Sasaki Sasaki,Rosana Aparecida De Souza Da Silva,Claudia Eli Gazetta,Paula Canova Sodré

doi:10.1590/1980-220x-reeusp-2021-0186

Abstract

To assess career commitment and entrenchment among Primary Care nurses. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out in 2018, with primary care nurses from two cities in the state of São Paulo. The Career Commitment and Entrenchment Scales, validated in Brazil, and consisting of 12 items each, were used, and assess: identity, resilience, and planning, related to commitment; emotional costs, investments, and limitation of career alternatives, related to entrenchment. The mean score of career commitment (61.4 points) was higher than that of career entrenchment (57.8 points); the identity factor had a high level (70.9 points); resilience and career planning obtained medium levels (62.5 and 50.8 points, respectively). Career entrenchment (57.8 points) and its respective factors reached medium levels (investments: 57.7 points; limitation of alternatives: 58.8 points; emotional costs: 57.0 points). The nurses showed a predominance of the career commitment relationship, as they showed a greater link of identification and positive relationship than of career stagnation.

Highlights

The Primary Health Care (PHC) services represent the first level of care in the Brazilian public health system (SUS) and are considered the gateway for users to the public system; PHC workforce is required to increase the capacity to meet users’ demands[1,2]
The results of career relationships showed that nurses had a higher mean for the construct career commitment (61.4 points) than for career entrenchment (57.8 points)
There was an average level for the construct (57.8 points) and its three factors [career investments = 57.7 points; limitations of career alternatives = 58.8 points; career emotional costs = 57.0 points]

Summary

Introduction

The Primary Health Care (PHC) services represent the first level of care in the Brazilian public health system (SUS) and are considered the gateway for users to the public system; PHC workforce is required to increase the capacity to meet users’ demands[1,2]. Measuring the workers’ relationships with their careers, such as commitment and entrenchment, which are characterized by discordant behaviors, capable of causing important organizational, social, and personal impacts[3,4,5], becomes relevant. Entrenchment, on the other hand, consists of the workers’ tendency to remain in the career due to fear of losses and limitation in the perception of other professional opportunities[5]. While the committed worker is involved with the organization, work and career, aiming at improving and overcoming the difficulties that arise, the entrenched worker is stagnant, in a defensive and static position, caused by feelings of emotional and economic loss, which keep him/her connected to his/her career and the work he/she performs[5,6,7,8,9]. Being entrenched can trigger feelings of fear, related to the risk of losing rights and benefits and the limitation of age to seek good job reinsertion, as well as the desire to avoid situations of emotional exhaustion and social stigma[5,6,10,11,12]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion