POSITION SHARING IN NURSING PRACTICE
This research examines the growing practice in the American economy of position (job) sharing as this human resource management innovation may be applied in nursing practice. The findings of this examination are presented in discussions in which (1) the significance of the issue--position sharing in nursing practice--is justified, (2) the ramifications and implications of the application of the position sharing concept in nursing practice are reviewed, and (3) the appropriateness of position sharing in nursing practice is evaluated.
Significance of the Application of the Position Sharing Concept in Nursing Practice
By the beginning of the 1990s, two problems of significance that will, to a great extent, influence the future character of nursing practice had already become evident. One of these problems is the serious shortage of professional nurses that exists in most geographic areas of the United States (Higgins, 1990, p. B1). The second problem is the phenomenon of the impaired nurse (Naegle, 1991, pp. 69-70). When the concept of the impaired nurse is considered at all by most observers, it is considered in the context of the professional nurse whose performance as a nurse is adversely affected by the misuse of chemical substances. In point of fact, however, a wide range of factors can contribute to the development of impaired performance in the professional nurse. Job dissatisfaction and one-the-job stress, both of which contribute to the shortage of professional nurses are contributing factors to the development of impaired performance in professional nursing, as is the frustration that nurses experience as they confront the myriad of conflicts between professional and family responsibilities.
The causes of the shortage of professional nurses are many and varied. On one level, the personnel shortage itself is also a cause because the stres...