Empowerment in School Nursing Practice: A Grounded Theory Approach

摘要

Professional empowerment is vital to nurses’ productivity and job satisfaction. Angrounded theory study was conducted to describe the basic social process experienced by schoolnnurses in relation to professional empowerment. Interviews with 10 school nurses led to thendevelopment of a situation-specific theory of school nurse empowerment, Making a Difference: ThenRole of the School Nurse in the Health of Children in Schools. This theory was derived from fourntheoretical constructs: (a) enlisting support, (b) getting through the day, (c) maintaining controlnover practice, and (d) adjusting to challenges. Interviews revealed that knowing at the end of eachnschool day that they made a difference in the health of children resulted in feelings of empowerment.nParticipants cited various areas in which their sense of empowerment was limited, includingnsalaries and workload. Despite these issues, they believed they had a positive impact onnthe health of children, leading to job satisfaction and feelings of value.