LAUSR

BACKGROUND : There has been an increased prevalence in the community of chronic kidney disease and a resultant increased demand for nephrology trained nursing staff. OBJECTIVE We sought to explore how nephrology trained nurses are currently impacted by daily caseload pressure, perceived organisational support and their educational needs. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS A co-designed 57-item questionnaire developed by the research team and clinical nephrology nurses hosted on Qualtrics™ was distributed to nephrology nurses in Australia and New Zealand via the Renal Society of Australasia electronic communications. RESULTS 370 respondents completed the survey and described a strong professional identity as a nephrology nurse. 73% reported working unpaid overtime and 71% described pressure to work overtime or stay past the shift end time. Only 2% reported that their workplace was adequately staffed, and half of the respondents reported care 'left undone' due to staffing issues. Almost all respondents reported that the patients with kidney disease were 'sicker' than 10 years ago, 40% felt at times that their patients clinical care was 'unsafe' and one third described the erosion of work based educational opportunities. However, team collegiality was high, a strength of the nursing profession, and almost all respondents reported collegial strong teamwork with the medical profession. CONCLUSION The nephrology nursing workforce will face important challenges over the next decade and action is needed to address succession planning and organisational support. Increased training opportunities for existing staff and appropriate resources to train new staff, must be an organisational response to prevent continued staff shortages in the nephrology nursing profession.