Nursing workforce research

Abstract

This issue of the Journal of Research in Nursing on the focus topic of nursing workforce research gives us an opportunity to see the breadth of work being conducted in this area of study. The common themes emerging throughout these international papers provide evidence of the complexities of the nursing workplace, and the importance of understanding factors that influence or impact the nursing workforce in the array of places and roles in which nurses are engaged. In essence, this issue highlights the context of many of the current workforce issues in the healthcare system. In the Guest Editorial by Professor Sean Clarke, the reader is provided with the context of nursing workforce research over several decades. Clarke emphasizes the broader triggers within and outside of the healthcare system that influence workforce trends including hospital and/or healthcare restructuring and the global crisis in the economy. Providing suggestions for future research on the nursing workforce, Clarke indicates the need to capture the uniqueness of the nursing profession and nursing work, while extending ‘conceptual and practical bridges’ beyond the profession paying particular attention to the global context. Clarke challenges us to move beyond the traditional nurse staffing and outcomes research and focus efforts on management, leadership and advanced practice scholarship. The importance of policy relevant collaborative workforce research efforts exclusive of ‘political ties’ is emphasized, using comparative approaches across societies. Mallette presents the results of a Canadian study that examined changing work patterns and employment relations in healthcare organizations. The author employs social exchange theory to assess whether nurse’s employment patterns influence employment relationships and outcomes. The importance of factors such as volition and work congruence are highlighted in Mallette’s findings. Nurses employed in full-time work patterns had greater relational psychological contracts than those employed either part-time or casual. Psychological contracts were found to have a direct effect on the job satisfaction, job withdrawal, career commitment and career withdrawal behaviors of nurses. Mallette’s work emphasizes the key role that strong employment relationships and psychological contracts play in addressing existing workforce issues.