RETENTION OF HEALTH CARE STAFF IN THE PROFESSION, ETHICAL CLIMATE AND ETHICS STRUCTURES

 

This project is part of a cooperation between the Swiss Universities in Health to establish a competence centre to counter workforce shortage among health professionals. Different sub-projects will develop basic knowledge and measures.

 

This site-project focuses on the retention of health care staff in the profession, on the ethical climate, ethical sensitivity and ethics structures, as well as on the provision of support for ethical decision-making. Ethical concerns are sources of distress for nurses, physicians and physiotherapists, and these stressors may decrease healthcare workers’ intrinsic motivation. Thus, the ethical climate in an organisation and the healthcare professionals’ ethical sensitivity for their concerns, have a direct influence on job satisfaction and on professionals’ intentions to leave the job. 

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In the first phase, the ethical climate (where appropriate), ethical sensitivity, ethical concerns and job satisfaction, will be assessed among healthcare workers in outpatient settings.  

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The second phase will assess the available ethics structures and their models through the following means: existing literature, activity reports of ethics structures, semi-structured interviews with ethics structures’ directors, and questionnaires with healthcare workers regarding their satisfaction with available ethics structures.  

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The third phase, which will be based upon the findings of the previous phases, will elaborate upon the concept of an ideal ethics structure.