Background: In a patriarchal society like Pakistan, where women are oppressed, women dominating professions like nursing is mostly seen as disempowered and requires considerable struggle to achieve its due recognition and respect. Aim: This study aims to explore the experiences of empowerment among the nursing leaders of Pakistan.Methods: This study uses a qualitative descriptive design. Total of twelve Pakistani Nursing leaders were interviewed using semi-structured interview guideline to explore their experiences of empowerment.Results: The study findings revealed five major categories which include: status of a nurse, nursing profession, power relationships, value-belief system, and leadership and management.Conclusions: Nurses’ empowerment is essential for enhancing the image and status of nursing profession in Pakistan. The study identified various personal and professional factors affecting nurses’ empowerment in the country and suggests various strategies, such as access to higher nursing education, development of enhanced nursing leadership competencies and understanding of power and politics of the organization, through which nurses can achieve empowerment.

Human resource for health, especially nurses, is the greatest challenge worldwide for most of the countries. This shortage has compelled hospital’s management and leadership to identify its causes and strategize interventions to overcome the deficit in order to improve and sustain quality health care for patients. This paper identifies issues affecting nurses’ retention and suggests recommendations for creating job enrichment and enhancing retention at a private university hospital in Karachi Pakistan. A contextual secondary data analysis of M.Sc. Nursing thesis, exit interviews and external evaluators’ report (2004) of a private university hospital in Karachi Pakistan along with review national and international studies published during 2001- 2013 on the factors affecting and strategies to improve nurses’ retention, attrition and job satisfaction. The contextual secondary analysis identifies the 5Ms including “management, migration, marriage, money and mother in law” to be the reasons of resignations identified among nurses. Whereas global literature highlighted two sets of reasons one is related to work life including higher education opportunities for career advancement, personal reasons, marriage, family commitment, and relocation for better prospects. The other set of reasons are work environment including overwork, lack of collegiality with co-workers, and lack of recognition from management. Moreover a model for nurses’ retention was developed to suggest ways to protect health human capital investment in a private university hospital. With prevailing country security situation in Pakistan, high cost impact of retention, sponsorship and escalating overseas demand, turnover will continue to remain a constant challenge. Healthcare organizations are strongly advised to invest in talent management practices that will have the greatest value for ensuring a steady workforce of qualified and engaged nurses.