1. The work of nurses in private health: Accounting for the intangibles in care delivery.
- Author
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Toffoli, Luisa, Rudge, Trudy, and Barnes, Lynne
- Subjects
NURSING services administration ,NURSING standards ,MEDICAL care ,MARKETING ,HOSPITALS ,BUSINESS ,DISCOURSE analysis ,PROPRIETARY health facilities ,INTENSIVE care nursing ,INTERVIEWING ,JOB security ,MEDICAL quality control ,NURSES ,NURSES' attitudes ,PATIENT satisfaction ,PROFIT ,RESPONSIBILITY ,WORK environment ,ETHNOLOGY research ,ORGANIZATIONAL structure ,OCCUPATIONAL roles ,SECONDARY analysis - Abstract
With the commodification of healthcare in general and of private health in particular, it is difficult not to acknowledge the growing influence of competition and 'the market' in shaping the way that nurses' work is managed by private hospitals and by nurses themselves. This paper explores the discourses shaping nurses' work in private healthcare, drawing upon data from an ethnographic study conducted in one Australian acute care private hospital. The framework for analysis relies on an exploration of the mentalities and governance of nurses' work in such a setting. The study shows how marketing and performance measures are believed to ensure the viability of the enterprise while simultaneously commodifying nurses' caring work. It is this work that remains invisible to the healthcare system and the hospitals where they work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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