I grew up, I mean, I was at the tail of the traditional women but not really at the forefront of the women's movement. I spent my married life as a good wife; I had some part-time work and then when my husband and I divorced I suddenly thought holy shit! (Excuse my language.) I've got to support myself! And finding that I could was very empowering.-Retired successful businesswoman, age 75According to the life-course perspective (Elder, 1995;Settersten, 2003), major life transitions such as retirement are embedded in the contexts defined by personal history and social circumstances. The wide variety of contextual factors affecting life transitions can include family situations, socioeconomic status, organizational work contexts and policies, one's own and/or one's partner's health, the nature of one's work, income, and the perception of being pressured to retire (Gibaldi, 2013;Ní Léime, 2017;Shultz & Wang, 2011;Wang et al., 2011). For example, two comparatively recent major policy changes that may affect work-related transitions are the
Background
The United Nations calculates there were 703 million adults 65 years and older globally as of 2019 with this number projected to double by 2050. A significant number of older adults live with comorbid health conditions, making the role of a nurse in long‐term care (LTC) complex. Our objective was to identify the challenges, facilitators, workload, professional development and clinical environment issues that influence nurses and nursing students to seek work and continue to work in LTC settings.
Methods
Eligibility criteria included being a nurse in a LTC setting and research with a substantial qualitative component. Multiple databases (including Medline and CINAHL) were searched between 2013 and 2019 along with grey literature. Covidence was used to organise a team of 10 into a paired review of titles and abstracts to the final full text screening, extraction and appraisal with the CASP Qualitative Studies Checklist. Analysis involved a thematic synthesis approach. The Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) checklist informed the writing of the review.
Results
The search resulted in 18 articles and dissertations. Areas investigated included recruitment, resilience, employment and retention, how nurses perceived their professional work, rewards and difficulties, supervision, student preceptorship and career aspiration, nurses' perceptions of occupational status, along with leadership, education and development needs, and intentions to manage resident deteriorating health. The five themes were (1) perspectives of nursing influenced by the organisation, (2) pride in, and capacity to build relationships, (3) stretching beyond the technical skills, (4) autonomy, and (5) taking on the challenge of societal perceptions.
Discussion
This review revealed what is required to recruit nursing students to careers in LTC and retain nurses. To be explored is how staff can work to their full scope of practice and the resultant impact on resident care, including how to maximise a meaningful life for residents and their families.
Registration
National Institute for Health Research UK (Prospero ID: CRD42019125214).
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