Nurses--Job satisfaction

It is estimated that there will be a 20% shortage of full time equivalent registered
nurses (RN) by 2015. Retention of nurses is a priority in health care, so a better
understanding of factors that contribute to job satisfaction and intent to leave is needed.
One possible factor is the quality of the interpersonal relationships that occur among
managers, peers, and nurses. A negative quality would be acts of hostility or horizontal
violence, which is nurse-to-nurse aggression. This is theorized to be a result of oppressed
group behavior. These behaviors may influence job satisfaction and the intent to stay on
the job and in the profession.
The overall purpose of the study was to explore relationships between horizontal
violence, oppressed group behavior, job satisfaction and intent to leave a position or
nursing in the next 12 months. This pilot study examined factors that influence registered nurses ' job satisfaction
and intent to leave a position or nursing. Convenience sampling was used to obtain the
sample of registered nurses from a BSN completion program and a Novice Nurse
Initiative Program (n=99). Written stories of conflict between nurses were obtained and
analyzed with linguistic analysis and word count (LIWC) software and various
standardized instruments were used including the Nurses Workplace Behavior Scale
(NWBS), the Organizational Climate for Caring Scale (OCCS), the Peer Group Caring
Interaction Scale (PGCIS), The McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale (MMSS) and two
visual analogue scales (VAS).
Significant relationships were found between job satisfaction and intent to stay in
a position and nursing (p<.01), oppressed group behavior and intent to stay in nursing
(p<.01), oppressed group behavior and job satisfaction (p<.01). Manager and peer caring
behaviors were related to intent to stay in a position and nursing (p<.01). Using stepwise
multiple regression, both manager and peer caring behaviors were found to influence the
relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay in a position or nursing.
The findings of this study suggest that the quality of interpersonal relationships
between managers, peers and nurses can influence job satisfaction and intent to stay in a
position or nursing.

The purpose of this study was to evolve a description of values of nurses who were recent graduates of associate degree nursing programs. Six new nurses who were employed in hospitals were asked for illustrations of nursing situations that described values important to their practice. Giorgi's method of interpretation for phenomenological studies was utilized for data analysis. Caring was the value that emerged as central to nursing. New graduates expressed this value as caring promoting growth. Subsumed within the value of caring for new nurses are hope, conscience, courage, honesty, humility, empathy and human connectedness.

This qualitative research study used the hermeneutic phenomenological method to discover the meaning of the experience of being a satisfied nurse. The study utilized van Manen's approach to phenomenology. The methods of inquiry included turning to the nature of the lived experience, existential investigation, identification of themes, phenomenological reflection, and phenomenological writing and rewriting. The aim of this study was to understand the meaning of being a nurse who finds satisfaction in the nursing profession. Six themes emerged as being significant to the experience of being a satisfied nurse: connecting with others, committing oneself, experiencing rewarding feedback, uncovering the unknown, caring for others, and finding meaning to life. The six themes reflect a unity of meaning of the experience of being a satisfied nurse. The unity of meaning is in feelings of enhanced humanness of the nurse and others. Implications for nursing research, nursing practice, and nursing education were discussed.

The purpose of this study was to describe the practice of nursing and the factors that influence nursing practice in one patient care setting where the Director is not a nurse. A qualitative design employing the methods of grounded theory was utilized. Reaching for Completeness was the core concept that emerged from the analysis. Reaching for Completeness describes the directionality of nursing practice in this setting. It includes: coming to Know the Client, Responding to the Immediate Needs of the Client, and Pulling it All Together. Factors that appeared to influence the practice of nursing in this setting were the management styles of the director and nurse manager, shared expectations of professionalism, and a shared sense of satisfaction in what the patients and staff accomplished together each day. The results of this study suggest that the main factor affecting the development of nursing practice in a patient care setting may not be whether the director is a nurse, but rather, whether nursing retains ownership of the practice of nursing.

The purpose of this study was to identify nursing values from lived experiences of six nurses during interactions with patients. Nurses employed by nursing agencies were asked: "describe an interaction you have experienced with a patient that best represents your nursing values". Giorgi's method of interpretation for phenomenological studies was used to analyze the stories. From each participant's specific values a general description of the structure of all participants' values was generated. Caring was the predominant value that emerged and encompasses nursing practice and the compassionate action it teaches. Concepts emerging from the study are living and learning of values, unpretentious presence, and caring as the ascendent value in nursing practice. Recommendations for future study include exploration of these concepts toward development of a value based nursing practice to increase job satisfaction and self-esteem for nurses recognizing their values.