Jumping Ship and Going to the Other Side: Experiences of Nurses who retrain as Doctors
Abstract
Aim: To gain an understanding of the experience of medical training for nurses who retrain as doctors.
Methods: Using a Constructivist Grounded Theory design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen medical students and residents who had completed nursing training prior to entering medical school. Interviews were audiotaped and professionally transcribed. Transcripts were coded and analysis in an inductive manner to construct central themes.
Findings: Many left nursing due to negative effects of a hierarchal system. As preclinical medical students they felt both advantaged and burdened by their advanced clinical knowledge. During clinical placements, they experienced social distress and role confusion whilst working in familiar environments and alongside former nursing colleagues. Nursing identity diminishes but is never lost.
Conclusions: The participants experienced complex social stressors as they moved from an oppressed group to a dominant group within a hierarchal system. These stressors are not likely experienced by other medical trainees.