The document discusses the nursing job and motivation theories relevant to nursing performance. It provides an overview of the nursing profession, describing nurses' roles in providing care. Several motivation theories are examined, including incentive theory, which the author argues is most applicable to nursing given the impact of rewards on motivation levels. The conclusion recommends reshaping nursing jobs to better address drive theory by having nurses internalize patients' needs to increase motivation without large salary increases.

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The Nursing Job
Murad Alhurairi
G00268369
Lecturer
Colm Kelleher
(Course)
Human resources management
GMIT College
(Galway)
(30 September 2013 )

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Table of content
THE NURSING JOB…………………………………………………………. 3-4
Literature review........................................……………………………….. 4-5-6-7
Research methodology………………………………………………………… 8
Data analysis…………………………………………………………………. 8
Conclusion and recommendations…………………………………………… 9
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….10

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THE NURSING JOB
The term nursing may include a wide range of specialties depending on the context of its
application. However, ideal nurses work in the health sector or related fields. A simple broad
description of a nurse depicts an individual who possesses formal education and training
specialized in providing care to the sick people or the disabled. According to Florence
Nightingale 1860, nursing is the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist in his or
her recovery. The nursing job was originally designed to aid in the prevention of illnesses,
betterment of health, and provision of care for the disabled, sick and terminally ill people
(Russell C. Swansburg, 2009, p. 59). All nurses work towards ensuring stability of patients with
no regard to their form of disability or sickness.
In their quest to better the lives of people, nurses often encounter several demoralizing
factors that adversely affect their performance. Arguably, the quality of work done by any
individual depends on his or her morale to handle the assigned responsibilities. Motivation is the
core factor that offers morale to individuals performing all types of tasks (Walker, 2012, p. 63).
Several studies depict that less equipped workers can perform better than highly equipped
workers in the same type of job if the latter are more motivated than the former.
The nursing job is an occupation where the performance of individuals involved highly
depends on their level of motivation. Therefore, the nursing job has always been dependent on
the theories of motivation. In workplaces employers need to greatly observe and abide by the
requirements of motivation theories in order to reap the best out of nurses. However, there exist
few employers who put into consideration the need to maintain a highly motivated workforce of

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nurses. This research paper is aimed at evaluating and proposing ways of redesigning the nursing
job based on the motivation theory to achieve higher performance.
Literature review
The nursing profession involves the a special focus to the provision of care to individuals,
communities or families with the core aim of ensuring that they achieve, uphold or recover from
health threatening situations (Miner, 2002, p. 151). According to the International Council of
Nurses nursing principally involves independent and shared provision of care to individuals
whether sick or well in all settings. The form of care provided by nurses aims at ensuring
provision of quality healthcare, prevention of diseases, provision of care for the ill, the disabled
and the terminally sick. In all parts of the world, nurses undergo quality training in colleges and
universities to ensure that they get equipped with the requisite skills to deliver in their places of
work (Weiner, 2008, p. 27).
Basically, nurses are collectively trained and equipped with skills meant to enable them
to offer assistance to health physicians in their undertakings. They usually work alongside
medical doctors, psychiatrists and other professionals in offering the professional assistance
required (Rita Stafford Dunn, 2005, p. 37). Nurses may also carry delegated authority from the
physicians where they act in the authority of the senior health professionals. The training offered
to nurses who attain international standards also allows them to handle some clinical
responsibilities without necessarily having them to have been delegated. Qualified nurses may
assess, plan, implement, or evaluate provision of care autonomously without necessarily having
to receive professional guidance from physicians (Janice Rider Ellis, 2004, p. 85). Their areas of
operation mainly include clinics and hospitals. Clinics and hospitals act as the main employers

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for individuals holding the nursing profession in most parts of the world. However, nurses also
work in hospices, pharmaceutical facilities, occupational health settings, private homes and
cruise ships (Timofeeva, 2002, p. 93). Hospices mainly provide care for the terminally ill while
most pharmaceutical facilities exist in the form of companies and outlets meant to ensure
efficient production and supply of medical products. Military facilities, retirement homes,
physician offices, schools and camps are also some of the areas that offer employment for nurses
(Weiner, 2008, p. 64). In some countries, nurses also provide consultancy services in healthcare,
insurance and legal sectors.
The nature of the nursing job does not allow many judges to have a fixed working
schedule. This is due to emergencies and the many uncertainties that characterize the field. In the
United States, nurses are classified into three major broad classes. The classification includes
licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered nursed (RNs) and the advanced practice nurses
(APNs) (Russell C. Swansburg, 2009, p. 116). The LPNs are usually individuals with the
required training of between eighteen months and two years while RNs possess a diploma,
associates or a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The RNs class of nurses also carries the
qualification of state certification and the title of a registered nurse. APNs are RNs with more
advanced education levels, skills and scope of practice. The three classes of nurses perform
similar duties that differ and advance wit increased education and work experience (Janice Rider
Ellis, 2004, p. 52).
Motivation is an imperative component for quality performance of all jobs. However, the
nursing profession is an area where the need for motivation in the workplace underpins all the
other factors that lead to quality job performance. The nature of the jobs performed by most
nurses necessitates the need for employers to maintain a strong and highly motivated workforce

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(Madsen, 2005, p. 25). The fact that the job handles people who require care for their survival or
wellbeing makes it important for the professionals to be motivated to avoid unnecessary errors or
neglect that may lead to loss of life.
Motivation is the force that instigates, offers guidance, and ensures individuals withhold
goal-orientation towards their objectives. The drivers of motivation in the nursing profession
range from emotional, biological, cognitive and social factors. Due to the existence of many
forms of jobs, researchers and scholars have developed several theories of motivation (Madsen,
2005, p. 3). All the theories try to explain the forces behind the presence or absence of
motivation in places of work.
There are several existing theories of motivation that try to account for the behavior of
individuals while carrying out certain tasks. The most famous theories include the instinct theory
of motivation, incentive theory of motivation, drive theory of motivation, arousal theory of
motivation and the humanistic theory of motivation (Russell C. Swansburg, 2009, p. 56). The
instinct theory of motivation that was presented by William Jones may not be significantly
applicable in nursing. This is because it suggests that people get motivated to conduct
themselves in a certain way because they have gradually been used to do so. This theory has
been criticized as one which applies best in explaining animal rather than human behavior.
Incentive theory of motivation hints that people get motivated to perform certain tasks
due to the presence of some external rewards. It further suggests that the level of motivation
changes proportionately with the rewards offered. The nursing job is an occupation that has
proven to be highly compliant with the incentive theory of motivation (Miner, 2002, p. 76).
Attractive rewards in the nursing career enable individuals to remain highly motivated despite

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the challenging nature of the conditions under which most nurses do their work. On the contrary,
lower rewards results to a less motivated team of nurses who may not utilize their full potential
and academic knowledge in the workplace. According to Madsen 2005, most employers of
nurses in the world have learnt how to offer good rewards to nurses in form of salaries. The
employers have evidently used the issue of provision of good salaries to ensure that nurses
remain highly motivated. Adequate rewards enable individuals to effectively address their
personal needs in their quest to live a good life.
The drive theory of motivation suggests that people are driven to perform actions by an
internal force created by the presence of unmet needs. Similar to the instinct theory of
motivation, the drive theory has for a long time been perceived not to apply much when it comes
to sourcing motivation for healthcare providers (Weiner, 2008, p. 94). This is as a result of the
fact that most behaviors discussed by the theory seem to be driven by mare physiological needs.
However, employers should ensure that nursed get to be driven by motivation described in the
drive theory. By ensuring that nurses remain compassionate with those that need their care, then
drive theory may be applicable since the unmet needs of a patient will be indirectly felt by nurses
(Walker, 2012, p. 52).
The arousal theory of motivation argues that people perform certain actions or behave in
certain ways in order to elevate their own levels of arousal. This theory cannot be much
applicable to in the nursing profession because of the professionalism involved. The humanistic
theory of motivation as illustrated by Abraham Maslow suggests that people maintain strong
cognitive reasons responsible for their various courses of action (Walker, 2012, p. 75). Many if
not all people in the nursing profession work with the primary aim of having to meet their needs
as listed in the Maslow’s hierarchy. Employers too have always treated workers with the aim of

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ensuring that their needs get to be met so as to achieve the required levels of motivation in the
workplace.
Research methodology
The research involved conduction of secondary research from various sources containing
detailed information regarding the nursing job. This was for both qualitative and the quantitative
information collected. Qualitative information was deemed to be of more importance and
relevance as compared to quantitative information for this type of research. Due to the
limitations arising from the nature of the research, the less available resources, the limited time-
frame and the broadness of the topic, the research focused principally on the secondary sources
of information. The main sources of information relied on were magazines, books, reports and
various reliable websites that contain relevant data.
Data analysis
Most of the information collected during the research activity was qualitative. However,
the few instances where quantitative data was offered regarding the research topic, an analysis
was performed. This was done using measures of central tendency that included the mean and
the mode. The qualitative data was analyzed leading to informed conclusions regarding the topic
as discussed in the conclusion and recommendations section.

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Conclusion and recommendations
The nursing job is a sensitive occupation where the level of motivation remains of
paramount significance for effective performance of the required duties. Nurses provide care for
the sick, the disabled and the elderly people in environments that in most cases prove to be
unpleasant. Dealing with the unpleasant nature of the tasks carried out by the professionals is
taught in colleges and universities but still more remains to ensure that they behave the right
way. Many employers have always worked hard to create highly motivated teams of nurses.
However, it is apparent that employers overlook several aspects that enhance motivation. The
most highly regarded factor is that of incentives.
Incentives significantly influence the performance of employees but may be enhanced
further to achieve more perfect outcomes (Rita Stafford Dunn, 2005, p. 147). Most employers of
nurses currently take into consideration only the incentive and the humanistic theories of
motivation. The two theories are of great importance for the development and maintenance of
highly motivated nurses. In addition to the two, it is imperative to always consider the drive
theory of motivation. Hence, the nursing job should be influenced and reshaped to ensure that
nurses respond to the physiological needs of the people who require their care.
For higher job performance, nurses should therefore, be educated on the importance of
internalizing the needs of people who depend on them. This can greatly help to achieve higher
levels of motivation in the workplace without necessarily having to hike salaries to on realistic
level. This is because it is not all nurses who work for a high pay as some would prefer job
satisfaction to an exaggerated pay package.

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Bibliography
Janice Rider Ellis, C. L. (2004). Nursing in Today's World: Trends, Issues & Management.
Hoboken: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Madsen, K. B. (2005). Modern Theories of Motivation: A Comparative Metascientific Study.
Hoboken: Wiley.
Miner, J. B. (2002). Role Motivation Theories. London: Routledge.
Rita Stafford Dunn, S. A. (2005). Learning Styles and the Nursing Profession. Manchester: Jones
& Bartlett Learning.
Russell C. Swansburg, L. C. (2009). Nursing Staff Development: A Component of Human
Resource Development. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Timofeeva, A. A. (2002). The Nursing Profession: Description and Issues. London: Nova
Publishers.
Walker, J. P. (2012). Psychology For Nurses And The Caring Professions. New York: McGraw-
Hill International.
Weiner, B. (2008). Theories of motivation; from mechanism to cognition. Oxford: Markham
Pub. Co.