Bullying, shortage of staff and resources in workplace: Qualitative experience of newly qualified nurses

BACKGROUND: The results of the study conducted at Alfred Nzo Municipality revealed that newly qualified nurses were overwhelmed with the challenges surrounding the execution of their duties in healthcare facilities. The experienced staff largely ignored the newly appointed personnel, which led to emotional distress among the newly qualified nurses. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore and describe the effects of bullying and the shortage of staff and resources in the workplace on newly qualified nurses and to evaluate the support offered to these nurses in the workplace. METHOD: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was used with semi-structured interviews to gather data that were analysed using Tesch’s thematic analysis. RESULTS: The themes that emerged revealed that the participants felt bullied in the workplace, the shortage of staff and resources made the participants feel ineffective in their work environment, and the clinical exposure to different units and procedures added value to the participants’ development in the workplace. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that bullying has adverse implications for newly qualified staff. The shortage of staff and resources made the newly qualified nurses feel ineffective and useless but their rotation through the wards added value to their development and confidence in their expertise. CONTRIBUTION: A conceptual framework serves as a guide to newly qualified professional nurses in guiding, protection and coaching in the workplace.