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Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze proposed Korean nursing legislation as depicted in newspaper articles, to highlight issues related to the legislative process for this potential law, and to better understand social awareness regarding this matter. Methods: The study focused on articles from 11 leading newspapers in Korea, published between February 2020 and August 2023, that pertained to nursing legislation. The articles were retrieved from the BigKinds database. Following text preprocessing, analytical methods including term frequency-inverse document frequency were employed, along with latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), for word and topic modeling analysis. Additionally, LDA was applied across time periods to examine temporal changes in topics. Results: Following preprocessing, a total of 7,967 words were extracted from the 991 articles selected for analysis. The primary themes identified in newspaper articles concerning the nursing legislation were organized into three main topics: 1) the necessity and impact of enactment of the nursing law, 2) the political context surrounding enactment of the law, and 3) the conflicts between and actions of healthcare organizations related to enactment of the law. Conclusions: The findings confirmed that media coverage regarding the proposed nursing legislation primarily concentrated on the political and social conflicts associated with the law's passage, rather than its necessity and substance. More compelling evidence must be presented concerning the influence of the nursing workforce and the work environment of nurses on patient safety and health outcomes. Additionally, strategies should be devised to improve public comprehension of the nursing law's provisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This study aimed to examine the relationships among shift-working nurses' meal time, break time and workplace characteristics. Methods. The cross-sectional study analyzed 351 questionnaires from 117 nurses who worked three shifts, drawn from eight nursing units in two tertiary hospitals located in South Korea. Meal time and break time during work were investigated through a questionnaire that participants completed immediately after the end of each shift. Regression analysis was conducted to investigate the associations between nurses' work characteristics and meal time and break time. Results. Meal time and break time were less than 30 min on all shifts and significantly longer on the night shift than on the other shifts. As patients' average length of stay increased, meal time increased on day and night shifts, while break time decreased on evening shifts. Overall, a higher nursing staff-to-patient ratio was associated with shorter meal and break times. Conclusions. It was found that nurses were not able to take proper time for meals and breaks while working. A realistic and specific strategy should be prepared to address this issue, with appropriate consideration of the specific characteristics of nurse staffing, patients' conditions and shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine newly licensed nurses' retention in their first job and factors related to their turnover. Background: Newly licensed nurses have a high turnover rate within three years of entering their first job. Introduction: The factors affecting newly licensed nurses' turnover should be identified and prevented. Methods: This longitudinal study tracked newly licensed nurses for three years. Data were collected online, and nurses could participate four times in the survey. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate survival curves and to present nurses' retention. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze factors related to turnover. Results: The estimated survival probabilities in nurses' first job at one, two, and three years were 0.927, 0.778, and 0.686, respectively. Nurses who reported turnover intention within one year in the first survey had significantly lower survival probabilities than those who did not have turnover intention. Turnover was more likely among male nurses. Turnover intention was associated with a significant increased likelihood of nurses leaving their first job. Discussion: More than one third of newly licensed nurses left their first job within three years of employment. To reduce nurses' turnover, it is necessary to understand and manage turnover intention in advance. Specific steps should be taken to address male nurses' turnover. Conclusions: Turnover intention was the most powerful predictor of turnover. Further research should investigate reasons for turnover intention at the beginning of employment, and strategies to prevent turnover should be developed before nurses enter the workforce. Implications for nursing and health policy: Newly licensed nurses with turnover intention at the beginning of their career should receive particular attention, and wellness programs should be prepared to promote retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The working environment of nurses contains numerous hazards that can be particularly harmful to pregnant women. In addition, pregnancy-induced changes can themselves cause discomfort. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze pregnant nurses' experiences of clinical work. This qualitative study analyzed data collected through in-depth interviews. From January to June in 2020, 12 shift-work nurses who had experienced pregnancy within three years were interviewed. The main question was "Could you describe your clinical work experience during pregnancy?" Qualitative data from field notes and transcriptions of the interviews were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Six categories were extracted that described the nurses' clinical work experience during pregnancy, as follows: "enduring alone," "organizational characteristics of nursing," "risky work environment," "strengths that sustain work during pregnancy," "growth as a nurse," and "methods to protect pregnant nurses." Pregnant nurses experienced various difficulties due to physical and mental changes during pregnancy, and the clinical working environment did not provide them with adequate support. The findings of this study will be helpful for developing and implementing practical maternity protection policies and work guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]