The shortage in the number of registered nurses is gradually and steadily increasing. By the year 2025, it has been predicted that the shortage in the number of registered nurses in the U.S will exceed 500,000 registered nurses (RNs) ((MacKusick & Minick, 2010). The situation led to the research study being critiqued in this essay. There are limited studies that have been done regarding the perceptions related to the reason nurses opt to leave their profession compared to the perceptions related to the nurses who stay (Buchan, 2006). The research paper sets out to gather and develop data relating to this particular problem. The data intends to improve strategies relating to effective nurse-retention. The significance of the study is based on the worrying and rising trend in which registered nurses are leaving their professions and opting to start another new career altogether. The limited data and research material regarding the issue couples the problem because the authorities responsible are somewhat oblivious of the trend. Even if they had knowledge of the same, they would not be able to implement the proper strategy about the issue because they do not know much about the approach that they are supposed to give it. A research established that within the first three years of clinical practice, 30%-50% of nurses opt to leave the nursing profession (MacKusick & Minick, 2010). It is an issue that has been mainly attributed to the first experiences nurses have during their practice. The trend might lead to scarcity of nurses, eventually increasing the cost of labor for hospitals since the few nurses available will be highly demanded. Eventually, the cost of medical care for the American citizens will also increase (Burns & Grove, 2011).

The purpose that formed the basis of the research was established to determine the factors that influence the perceptions that eventually prompt newly registered nurses to leave clinical practice. Various clinical practice settings were used to describe different clinical nursing experiences. The study was designed to answer one research question which stated, “What is the experience of registered nurses who leave clinical nursing?” The research question was used to formulate the questions that were used to interview the nurses who had left their clinical practice. The purpose and the research question were related to the problem that forms the basis of the research. The author has put focus on aligning the possible reasons nurses leave their profession to the question and purpose of the study. The answers provided in the study give a reasonable purpose as to why registered nurses leave their nursing clinical practice. The answers include fatigue and exhaustion related to the career, unfriendly workplace and emotional distress. Interpretive hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a qualitative research technique in the study. A qualitative method was used because the research mainly focused on the perceptions of the registered nurses and also because there is no definitive research that relates to the problem.

Apart from the list of references of the sources used in the research of the study, the author does not give a literature review of the same. He did not, therefore, cite the relevance of a qualitative study and a quantitative study as far as the research is concerned. According to the references, most of the sources used are older than five years old. For a research based on a qualitative study, it is allowed to use sources that are not necessarily recent. The author indicated the weakness of the study as having a very small sample size to conduct the research. It is unknown whether the findings could change if a larger sample size is used. Another weakness of the study included the limited research that exists concerning registered nurses’ potential vulnerability or resiliency to perception.

The author was able to identify a specific perspective was used to develop the study. The approach that the author had was that there is a rising trend in which nurses are leaving their nursing clinical practice, and there are a number of reasons that underlie or are related to the trend. The author did not create a conceptual framework from the findings of the study. However, he did a discussion of the findings where he did a summary of the validity of the problems identified in the study.

In conclusion, the research study has been able to identify a good research problem and establish a good purpose to conduct it. The problem associated with the reason nurses leave their nursing clinical practice is a matter that should be given consideration because it might surmount to other problems in both the present and the future. The author of the study has also organized the research perspective, development and findings in a reasonable and acceptable manner. However, he fails to develop a literature review that evaluates the sources used in the study and a conceptual framework that analyses the findings.

References

Burns, N., & Grove, S. (2011). Understanding Nursing Research (5^th ed.). Elsevier. MacKusick C.I & Minick P. (2010). Why Are Nurses Leaving? Findings From an Initial             Qualitative Study on Nursing Attrition. Medsurg Nursing. 19(6) 335-340. Retrieved from       https://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/documents/practice-resources/healthy-work-          environment/resources/MSNJ_MacKusick_19_06.pdf

Buchan, J. (2006). Evidence of Nursing Shortages or a shortage of evidence? Journal of    advanced nursing. 56(5). 457-458

(Burns & Grove, 2011)