Exploring the resilience of generation Y professional nurses in a private hospital group in Gauteng, South Africa

Abstract

The nursing shortage is a huge concern in the healthcare sector both worldwide and in South Africa. This shortage of nurses can have an impact on the quality of patient outcomes in the healthcare sector. The current nursing force consists of three generations of nurses, each with different needs, values and attitudes (Keepnews et al., 2010:155). It is crucial to retain the current nursing force for the private healthcare sector, especially generation Y professional nurses who form a large part of this workforce. One of the factors that is important for retaining nurses in the nursing profession is resilience. Several studies have been done on the impact of resilience on nurse retention. It is evident from research on the resilience levels of professional nurses in South Africa that attitude and ability are improved by resilience. A resilient nurse experiences job satisfaction, builds relationships, and therefore contributes to a conducive work environment. Management can play an important role in supporting generation Y professional nurses by understanding their needs and nurturing their resilience. Considering the composition of the current nursing force, it is important to examine resilience and a conducive work environment from the viewpoint of generation Y professional nurses. The purpose of this study is to:  Explore and describe the perceptions of generation Y professional nurses working in a private hospital group in Gauteng regarding resilience.  Explore and describe the perceptions of generation Y professional nurses working in a private hospital group in Gauteng regarding a „conducive work environment‟. This inquiry is qualitative and descriptive in nature. Purposive sampling was used to select the population of generation Y professional nurses in a private healthcare group in Gauteng. In this way, it could be ensured that participants possess knowledge of the phenomenon being studied. Data collection was done by conducting semi-structured focus group interviews. Sample size was determined by data saturation, namely after five semi-structured focus group interviews. Two main categories were identified after data analysis. These categories revealed themes such as staying resilient, strategies to maintain resilience in the workplace, barriers preventing a conducive work environment, and strategies to maintain a conducive work environment. The findings of this study indicate that generation Y professional nurses possess some of the characteristics of resilience, such as adapting to negative situations and remaining positive, coping skills, the ability to handle emotions, being caring, and being proud to be a generation Y professional nurse. Furthermore, it was also found that the following barriers prevent a conducive work environment: high workload due to staff shortages, poor work relationships, family demands, lack of respect and authority, long working hours, and unprofessional behaviour and lack of support from management. Certain recommendation will be made by introducing strategies to maintain and develop a conducive work environment for generation Y nurses. Conclusions can be drawn in terms of generation Y professional nurses‟ perceptions regarding resilience and a conducive work environment. The overall conclusion is that generation Y professional nurses in a private hospital group can be retained if they are resilient and functioning in a conducive work environment. Resilience can be further developed and strengthened by the management of the private hospital group in Gauteng through the identification of programmes, workshops, and role modelling. Furthermore, management needs to support generation Y professional nurses by addressing the barriers identified, thereby maintaining a conducive work environment. Based on the findings, literature integration and conclusions reached in the present study, recommendations are formulated for nursing education, nursing research and nursing practice in order to develop and strengthen generation Y professional nurses‟ resilience and create a conducive work environment. An understanding of the differences in values held by different generations of nurses will help managers to develop a conducive work environment for generation Y professional nurses