Iranian entrepreneur nurses’ perceived barriers to entrepreneurship: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: To respond efficiently to the increasing and new needs of people in health issues, it is necessary for nurses to develop their knowledge from hospital to society and to be equipped to play entrepreneur role in different levels of care. The present study was conducted to describe Iranian entrepreneur nurses’ perceived barriers to entrepreneurship, in order to identify the existing barriers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a qualitative study in which Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis method was employed. Thirteen entrepreneur nurses were chosen purposively, and data were gathered by unstructured interviews. RESULTS: As a result of the data analysis, five major themes were extracted: Traditional nursing structure, legal limitations, traditional attitudes of governmental managers, unprofessional behaviors of colleagues, and immoral business. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study show that Iranian nurses are confronted with various problems and barriers to enter entrepreneur nursing and keep going in this area. By focusing on such barriers and applying appropriate changes, policymakers and planners in health can facilitate nurses entering into this activity.