Critical care nurses’ motivations and challenges: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Aim: To describe the motivations and challenges that critical care nurses encounter in their roles and careers. Background: Understanding the motivations of critical care nurses and the challenges they encounter in their roles may be central to their overall wellbeing, job satisfaction, and workforce retention. While existing studies have examined stress and coping, and job satisfaction and intentions to stay, critical care nurses’ motivations in relation to these and other factors remain underexplored. Design: A qualitative descriptive study. Method: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from various critical care settings across Australia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with seven experienced critical care nurses. Analysis followed qualitative descriptive principles and was supported by a modification of Braun and Clarke’s framework. Results: A range of factors, such as the nature of clinical work, opportunities to advance knowledge and skills, gaining emotional fulfilment from care, and supportive workplaces, motivated and sustained critical care nurses’ professional engagement. Nurses reported both workplace and professional challenges, including resource limitations, interest in providing best practice, dealing with complex workplace dynamics, managing stress, and achieving work-life balance. To manage these challenges and to remain motivated, nurses employed diverse coping strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal, self-care, social support, and adjustments to their work roles. Conclusion: The study highlights important motivations that sustain critical care nurses in their professional roles. Dealing with challenges and using coping strategies can support professional motivation and engagement. Using positive coping strategies in conjunction with motivation may be essential for managing pressures associated with critical care nursing. Implications for research, policy, and practice: Insights into what motivates and what challenges critical care nurses is important to the retention of the workforce. Findings can inform policymakers to develop targeted programs that support critical care nurses. Implications may lead to improvements in critical care nurses’ well-being, job satisfaction, and retention, ultimately leading to enhanced patient care through a more motivated and resilient nursing workforce. What is already known about the topic? As critical care nurses occupy a large sector of the acute care workforce, ways of supporting their retention in the workforce and their well-being are needed. Professional motivation is critical for critical care nurses to function effectively and for their career development. This may impact job satisfaction and burnout. There is a need to learn more about what motivates and sustains the motivations of critical care nurses. What this paper adds The motivation to become a critical care nurse can be connected to the exciting, fast-paced, and diverse care in the work environment, by interests in learning specialised knowledge, and by peers. The professional motivations of critical care nurses can be sustained through supportive work environments, enjoying sharing knowledge with others, and achieving self-care and work-life balance. Critical care nurses can manage their motivations and the challenges they experience through using an array of personal and workplace coping strategies, e.g., cognitive coping, setting boundaries between work and personal life, debriefing, and using organisational supports.