Threats to nurses’ dignity and intent to leave the profession

It is essential to pay attention to and respect the dignity of nurses to maintain them in their
profession while they deliver skilled nursing care. Little is known, however, about how a sense of dignity
influences the practitioner.
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe nurses’ experiences of threats to their dignity
occurring within clinical settings, which generates an intention to leave clinical practice.
Research design and method: The study was performed using qualitative content analysis. The
participants were 21 clinical nurses with work experience who were employed across a range of clinical
posts. Data obtained from the semi-structured interviews were analyzed and interpreted using a content
analysis approach.
Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical
Sciences and was guided by the ethical principles of voluntary enrolment, anonymity, privacy, and
confidentiality.
Findings: Within data analysis, three main themes and nine categories were extracted as follows: (1) lack of
professional pride (physician’s dominance, intangible nature of nursing, and negative attitude toward clinical
nurses); (2) oppressive work environment (high workload, disrespect, discrimination, and lack of support);
and (3) suppression of progressivism (lack of appreciation and attention to meritocracy).
Discussion: Almost all of the participants have experienced some degree of disrespect and violation of
dignity. In general, attempts made by the participants to show their objection to the threats and to
support and protect their dignity have not been effective and in fact made them more inclined to leave
the clinical work