The Hesitance of Nurses to Apply for Midwifery Specialization: Explorative Qualitative Study

Background: Many countries across the world are facing an ongoing shortage of midwife practitioners due to several reasons such as increased workload, working overtime, poor-quality midwifery care, low staff morale, stress and burnout, lack of opportunity for training, lack of management support, financial issues and lack of recognition and compromised autonomy. Purpose: To explore the reasons behind nurses’ hesitance to apply for midwifery specialization. The objectives of this study were to understand the challenges that lie in front of Omani nurses and the motivational factors to apply for a midwifery programme. Method: Exploratory qualitative study was conducted at the largest tertiary hospital in Oman. Purposive sampling was applied for participant recruitment. Face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions were used as data collection methods. The study included general nurses, nurses in charge working in the maternity unit as well as nurses whose applications were accepted for midwifery education. Qualified midwives were excluded. The data collection process yielded twenty-five nurses. The interview protocol highlighted the impact and perception of the midwifery specialization on nurses’ careers. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. Results: Three over-arching major themes were identified. These are 1) nurses’ perceptions about the nature of work in maternity wards, the nurses have positive perception toward working in maternity wards and labor room because of working exclusively with female patients and their babies 2) factors influencing the decision to study midwifery specialization, work overload, stress, lack of support from administration were the most common reason behind the nurses not to apply for midwifery specialization and 3) support and recommendations required for midwives, the nurses mentioned that their identity, promotions and support from the administration will encourage them to apply for midwifery specialization. Conclusion: One of the main reasons that hindered nurses from applying to midwifery specialization is the false belief that midwives cannot work outside the delivery suite (DS). The second reason was the stress that midwives encounter at DS, and this was perceived by general nurses who did not work at DS. These challenges could be mitigated by leadership support, midwifery profession identity, as well as financial recognition for the midwives.

Mixed Expectations in the Recruitment Settlement during COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of Newly Employed Nurses in Oman

Introduction: Hospital nurses’ recruitment during the COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge for the hospital, the staff themselves and for their families & relatives. Although the world has undergone different pandemics and disasters, the literature has shown that the new nurses still face uncertainty in dealing with health emergencies and disasters that impose significant stress on their performance at work. The situation in Oman is not different and little is known about the newly employed nurses’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: The qualitative study was designed to include face to face interviews of the newly employed nurses between May and December 2020 at the biggest tertiary hospital in Muscat, the capital of Oman to explore their experiences and how they confronted the COVID-19 pandemic challenges during their internship period. Result: The data was analyzed through qualitative manifest content analysis and disclosed different experiences which were framed into four contexts: Introductory Nurses Plan, Hospital Environment, Nurses Characters and Nurses Families & Relatives. The negative experiences were mainly related to the intense internship requirements, non-availability of the preceptors, hospital environment and COVID-19 circumstances. On the other hand, the positive experiences were mainly related to their self-motivation, recruitment satisfaction, and family encouragement and support. Conclusion: Clear nurses’ lack of knowledge towards COVID-19 pandemic was disclosed and associated with mixed emotional insights towards themselves, their families and relatives, their preceptors and towards the hospital environment including their preparatory plan. The study identified the nurses’ stressors and motivators that could be addressed with a clear need for preparatory adjustments to support newly employed nurses in future appointments with a lot of involvements shared responsibilities and implications.