Keywords

becoming a nurse, career, commitment, extrinsic, intrinsic, satisfaction, work environment, workload

 

Authors

  1. Lynn, Mary R. PhD
  2. Redman, Richard W. PhD
  3. Zomorodi, Meg G. BSN

Abstract

Nurses in acute care hospitals are like the canaries used to test for lethal gases in mines-if they remain, the conditions must not be extreme. Staff nurses from 8 states responded to a questionnaire giving reasons why someone should and should not be a nurse. The almost 700 nurses responding reported that many of the reasons one should be a nurse are also the reasons one should not be one (eg, pay/benefits, respect for nursing). Extrinsic factors dominated the reasons to be a nurse, with both intrinsic and extrinsic factors being the reasons not to do so.