Time perspectives in nursing practice : a thesis ... for the degree of Master of Arts in Nursing Studies at Massey University
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Date
1982
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Massey University
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Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the concepts of time and nursing practice. This study was designed to:
- ascertain which of the two time perspectives best represented the view of time held by a selected group of nurses
- generate data which would give an indication of the way in which these nurses view time in its totality
- examine the relationship between cyclic and linear time and six selected job components common to all nursing practice
Data was obtained from 346 nurses employed in two hospitals and a maternity annex using a self report questionnaire. The items in the questionnaire were developed to examine nurses' perception of time in a free choice situation, their perception of cyclic and linear time in a forced choice situation and their perception of time as it related to six components of their work.
The results indicate that:
nurses in this study did not view the concepts of cyclic and linear time as mutually exclusive entities. At the time of this study approximately two thirds of subjects viewed time as predominantly linear and the remaining third viewed time as predominantly cyclic.
Nurses in the more senior employment categories are more likely to have a linear view of time than those in the more junior employment categories. This is supported by the result indicating that a greater percentage of nurses within senior employment categories selected the diagram representing the concept of linear time, than those in the more junior categories. It is also supported by results indicating that while nurses in all employment categories perceived their work
as involving some routine duties and that established procedures exist as a basis for practice, nurses in the more senior employment categories perceived their work as involving a greater degree of forward planning and decision making than those in the more junior employment categories.
13.68% of the total population of two hospitals could not define clearly their personal definition of the word 'time'. 23.44% of respondents viewed time as a unit of measure, while 12.06% saw it in terms of its availability and a further 12.06% related it to the concepts of life and existence.
Description
Appendix 9 (Data used as basis for analysis) is available from the print copy held in the library
Keywords
Time perception, Nursing