The purpose of this study was to identify aspects of transition from full-time to part-time employment among nurses. A semi-structured interview was conducted on 16 part-time nurses aged 25 to 34 years who made such a transition because of marriage, pregnancy, or childbirth. A qualitative and descriptive approach was employed to analyze the data. On occasions of marriage, pregnancy, or childbirth, these participants became keenly aware that the full-time position posed “difficulties in continuing working because of stereotypical views and demanding work conditions”.

This notion was influenced by “potential constraints of family values” and “conservative family policies”. Some of them “made an attempt to maintain the status quo” but, in the end, gave up their full-time position because they felt “a silent objection of the hospital to full-time employment”. Those who became a full-time housewife or obtained a job other than in a hospital setting came to develop “a renewed aspiration to work as a hospital nurse - an aspiration engendered by a separation from hospital work”, and consequently, chose to be a part-time nurse. Those who chose not to resign from the hospital because of their “willingness to hold a job regardless of employment status” also chose to take a parttime position.

These participants experienced a conflict between “a desire to be who I want to be” and “potential constraints of family values”. They “were not totally satisfied with the tasks of part-time workers” owing to “a conflict between aspirations for career development and reserved feelings towards the workplace”. Nevertheless, they “were satisfied with working on a part-time basis” and “accepted (for now) the transition to part-time employment”. Furthermore, the perceptions of nursing careers such as “emotional attachments to the nursing job”, “awareness of nursing as specialty practice”, “an emphasis on interactions with patients”, and “a view of nursing as a stable career” exerted an important influence on their career choice and decision-making. These nurses' visions for the future would be influenced by factors including their children's growth and motivation for work. They were ready to “act according to the circumstances, dealing with the unpredictability of their future”. While expressing “an anxiety about their own competence”, they intended to “select a workplace facilitating a lifelong career” and “continue working as a nurse”.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between nurses' recognition on organizational culture and turnover patterns to their organization.

Method: A total of 584 nurses from 14 middle size hospitals (less than 400 beds) were asked to respond to a questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic data, turnover patterns to the organization, and recognition to the organization culture.

Results: A total of 475 (81.1%) out of 584 nurses responded to the questionnaire, and 464 (79.3%) were qualified for study analysis. The subjects were classified into 3 types of organization turnover: type Ⅰ “adherence group” included 326 (70.2%) subjects, type Ⅱ “noncommittal group” included 81 (17.5%) subjects, and type Ⅲ “non-adherence group” included 57 (12.3%) subjects. There were no differences about demographic data among 3 adherence groups. Compare to the noncommittal group and the nonadherence group, the adherence group show higher points on organizational culture.

Conclusion: To facilitate nurses' adherence to the middle size hospitals, it is necessary to take measures to those who cannot have fellowship in the organizational culture, who respect individual ability, who pursuit scientific evidence of care, and who value information analysis skills. In addition as a community based medical facility, a middle size hospital needs to clarify its own specialized area and share the organizational principles with employees so that the nurses can set their own goals as a specialist in the organization.

The purpose of this research was to identify the structure of the differences between expectations and experiences of nurses entering a new work environment using qualitative analysis. Seven experienced nurses who transferred to a different hospital for the first time and continued to work there were interviewed. Data analyzed using a grounded theory approach, revealed that experienced nurses joined the new organization with several expectations: “hope or a positive image for changing hospitals” and “worry about working at a new hospital”. Entering a new work environment, they encountered the reality of the situation and recognized “the gaps between expectations and realities” which was like reality shock for graduate nurses. Even experienced nurses could not accurately anticipate how a new organization would be or how nursing might be practiced before entering a new organization, which is similar to new nurses' situation. To decrease the gap between expectations and realities, nursing administrators should give enough information about their organization to transferred nurses as a “realistic job preview” before they begin working. In addition, all transferred nurses probably faced this gap; therefore, they need to be supported in a different way than newly graduated nurses.

This study is an action research that aims to clarify the changes to the awareness and actions of proficient nurses and nursing supervisors and the processes thereof. To enhance proficient nurses' autonomy, we held “discussion workshops” and discussed autonomous nursing case by using a reflection program, together with consenting nurses who belong to one ward unit of the mid-scale hospital in the Kanto region: one head nurse, two charge nurses and 24 nurses. The data collection period is about three months. We repeatedly interpreted and analyzed transcriptions at the discussion workshops and participant observation field notes at the hospital ward to correct the progress and content of the actions, and we sorted all the data in chronological order and analyzed them qualitatively. As a result, the study participants deepened reflection through three steps, “sharing of knowledge about reflection,” “information sharing about the current status and reflection,” and “awareness of changes and maintenance” at seven discussion workshops, and they agreed that day-to-day conferences are important and that they can provide good nursing care by respecting each other through a heart-to-heart talk and information sharing during discussions. The proficient nurses have changed their actions in such ways as: proactively proposing to hold conferences for discussion; being able to give their opinions candidly regardless of their years of experience; and consulting a doctor regarding the patients under their charge at their discretion. The nursing supervisors reviewed their current relationships with other staff. The results suggested that it is significant for proficient nurses to practice reflection together with nursing supervisors, and that a reflection program is useful for the awakening of proficient nurses' autonomy.

The aim of this study was to clarify how head nurses working in hospital wards perceive their roles in order to consider how support should be given to head nurses in hospital wards. Semi-structured interviews were given to 16 subjects with a specified number of years' experience as a head nurse in a hospital ward. Qualitative a posteriori analysis was conducted on interview content from subjects regarding their role as head nurse, giving the following results including 4 categories. Head nurses perceived their role as 1) “To link the chief nurse and the staff” in order to fill the psychological gap between chief nurses who have difficulty grasping workplace conditions in real time and the staff who work directly with patients in the workplace, 2) “To manage the workplace” while coordinating the various duties, 3) “To create a good work environment” to ensure smooth interpersonal relations, and 4) “To train specialists as nurses.” Furthermore, head nurses find their significance in moving freely back and forth between the chief nurse and the staff, and it is necessary to consider a hospital ward organization in which head nurses can discover their particular role as such. The results also suggested that there is a need to create an environment in which head nurses can make use of their accumulated experience as a nurse in order to perform their role.