Nurses’ experiences of the role of organizational and environmental factors in the development of love of the profession: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Love of the profession has significant relationship with nurses’ job motivation and care quality. However, there is limited information about organizational and environmental factors affecting love of the profession among nurses. AIM: This study aimed at exploring nurses’ experiences of the role of organizational and environmental factors in the development of love of the profession. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in 2020–2021 using the conventional content analysis approach. Participants were Fifteen Iranian nurses with deep love of the profession, nursing instructors, and nursing managers purposefully selected from different healthcare and academic settings in seven large cities of Iran. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews and were analyzed via the conventional content analysis method proposed by Graneheim and Lundman. RESULTS: Organizational and environmental factors affecting the development of love of the profession were grouped into three main categories: The social context of the profession (with two subcategories), family support (with two subcategories), and organizational health (with four subcategories). Subcategories were respectively historical context of the profession, the evolving context, emotional family support, instrumental family support, quality of interpersonal relationships in the organization, level of organizational justice, level of authority delegation to nurses, and level of organizational support. CONCLUSION: Different organizational and environmental factors can affect nurses’ love of the profession development. Improving public image of nursing, providing nurses with stronger support, improving organizational climate, and strengthening interpersonal relationships in healthcare settings are recommended to develop nurses’ Love of the profession.