An analysis of the factors which impinge on a nurse's decision to enter, stay in, leave or re‐enter the nursing profession

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Abstract
As part of a wider study concerned with the changing nurse employment patterns a detailed questionnaire was completed by a total of 2325 qualified female nurses, 841 of whom were working fulltime in nursing, 634 were inactive, 678 were offering their services on a part-time basis and 172 were working in some other occupation. In a previous article the results of the analysis conducted on the responses to the attitude questions were presented. In this paper the replies to those questions aimed at soliciting the reasons felt to have impacted on the respondent's decision to take up nursing, to stay or to leave the profession and to re-enter the profession are analysed. As the questionnaires were distributed in the course of two projects separated by 4 years, what is of particular interest is the similarity of the two sets of results. These indicate that there is still a very high level of job satisfaction as evidenced by the extent to which nursing would be recommended to a friend or relative. The primary obvious reason for inactivity is the existence of a young child but when further intentions are explored it is clear that there is a large pool of qualified nurses keen to resume a career the main obstacle being the lack of sufficient flexibility of hours of working.

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