ABSTRACT

Many people become nurses out of an innate desire to help care for others. Unfortunately, many nurses experience burnout because of current hospital environments which are often plagued with increasing patient needs in tandem with inadequate resources. Burnout then impacts patient outcomes and nurse retention. Little is known about the experience of nursing gig work and how it relates to burnout and joy and meaning in their work.

This study aims to understand the nurse experience of working autonomously with a flexible role in a gig economy that allows them to pick up work to care for individuals in the community who have just been discharged from the hospital.

Nurse Leaders need strategies for retaining their direct care givers. We will show how Registered Nurses are committed to their duty to care for patients and families and how they find personal and professional fulfillment in environments that support them.