Abstract
Historically, nursing has focused on providing bedside care, administering medication,
and educating patients, their families, and communities. However, there has been a
recent shift, and instead of nurses being formally employed, they are now venturing
on their own to address professional shortages in healthcare institutions. Nursing is
dynamic, and nurses thus heeded the call to address healthcare challenges in a
unique manner, taking nursing care back to those who can afford to avoid long waiting
times and clinic hours not accommodative to typical working hours. Nurse
entrepreneurs offer a new perspective to the nursing care role.
A qualitative design was used, following the appreciative inquiry (AI) approach. The
population comprised professional nurses operating private practices in Gauteng
Province, South Africa. Snowball sampling was used, and 15 participants were
interviewed until data saturation was reached.
Four themes emerged from the in-depth, semi-structured interviews:
• Defining being a nursepreneur: Challenges and triumphs experienced by
participants
• The best moments of being a nursepreneur: Participants promoted genuine care
and well-being alongside business interest
• The dream for nursepreneurs: Participants were building collaborative
multidisciplinary healthcare teams through professional networking
• Designing best moments for aspiring nursepreneurs: Participants were exploring
more nursing specialities
In this study, it transpired that the participants’ lack of business experience prolonged
the successful startup of their businesses. Recommendations for health services,
nursing management, nursing education, and further research were also offered
based on the findings.
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The data’s trustworthiness was accomplished by ensuring the findings’ credibility,
transferability, dependability and confirmability. The study was also conducted with
due consideration of ethical principles. Limitations and strengths were identified, and
recommendations can be applied by nursing higher education institutions,
policymakers at higher education institutions, and future researchers.
Keywords: Appreciative Inquiry; Choices; Healthcare; Lived Experiences; Nurse;
Nursepreneur; Nursing; Person; Private Practice