Anything but casual : the worklife experience of casual nurses
Date
1998
Authors
Simpkin, Myfanwy Lynne
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Abstract
This study explored the worklives of nine casual nurses who were employed in home nursing care and acute care in the Capital Health Region. Recent statistics indicated that casual staffing in these areas can be as great as 50% of the total (Staff Scheduling, C.H.R., 1997) In the province of British Columbia, nurses who work as casuals constitute approximately 25% of the workforce (Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia, 1997) yet in published nursing research there was almost no mention of casual nurses. The research question explored in this study was: What is the worklife experience of casual nurses?
In three audiotaped group interviews, five acute care nurses and four home care nurses described their worklives and their concerns. Through a qualitative analytic process, the themes that emerged fell into three areas of influence: the workplace; relationships with colleagues; and the effect of and influence on personal and family life. The effect of marginalizing a large group of the nursing workforce has implications for the members, the employing organization, and the profession of nursing. The intent of this study was to increase the visibility of a group that has had little attention from their own professional bodies, their employers, and researchers in nursing.