Today the professional nursing develops rapidly within the hospital organization and nurses are required various role. Although nurses can achieve more effective role performance with job satisfaction, they experience many role conflicts in modern soc...
Today the professional nursing develops rapidly within the hospital organization and nurses are required various role. Although nurses can achieve more effective role performance with job satisfaction, they experience many role conflicts in modern society.
The purpose of this study was to elucidate hemodialysis (HD) nurse's role conflict and job satisfaction for the development and expansion in professional nursing.
A total of 451 HD nurse's who were working in 63 Korean hospitals were included in this study. Data were collected from April 7 to May 6, 2005. HD nurse's role conflict was assessed by Conflict Scale as modified from Kim and Park (1994). HD nurse's job satisfaction was assessed by Index of Work Satisfaction as modified from Slavitt et al. (1997). The validity of assessment tools was verified by the expert group consisted of twenty persons. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 12.0. ANOVA was used to compare difference among groups. Scheffe test was used to compare the nominal values between different groups. Pearson correlation was used to determine bivariate correlations. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to evaluate validity of this study.
The results are as follows;
1. By 5-point scale of role conflict, mean score of HD nurse's role conflict was 3.68. Each score of role conflict for non supportive environmental system, lake of capability, role ambiguity, and lake of cooperation was 3.74, 3.72, 3.70, and 3.50, respectively.
2. By 5-point scale of job satisfaction, mean score of HD nurse's job satisfaction was 3.09. Each score of job satisfaction for both human relationship and interaction, job professionalism, task requirement and autonomy, organizational requirement, and pay was 3.46, 3.40, 3.27, 2.60, and 2.52, respectively.
3. There was statistically significant difference in role conflict between nurses with educational opportunity to participate in education and nurses without opportunity to participate in education (F=3.18, p=0.01). Role conflict score was significantly higher in the nurses without opportunity to participate in education compared to others.
4. Job satisfaction was significantly correlated with age (r=0.12, p=0.005), total period of holding in hospital (r=0.13, p=0.009), and period of staying in current unit (r=0.12, p<0.000). Factors affecting job satisfaction were type of hospital (F=13.25, p<0.000), job position (F=19.80, p=0.000), working-scheduled period (F=19.80, p<0.000), and opportunity to participate in education for individual development (F=2.99, p=0.02). Job satisfaction score was higher in the nurses who were working in primary clinic and had advance age, willing to work continuously, and opportunity to participate in education compared to others. Head nurses or charge nurses had higher job satisfaction score compared to general nurses.
5. Role conflict was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r=-0.13, p<0.005).
In conclusion, our results demonstrate that HD nurse's experience role conflict of non supportive environmental system, lake of capability, and role ambiguity and that they have above average job satisfaction with interaction, job professionalism, task requirement and autonomy, but below average job satisfaction with organizational requirement and pay. For the development and expansion of professional nursing, therefore, sufficient personnel, machinery, and facility are required. In addition, explicit limitation of authority and responsibility for job, education program, participation in case of promotion or policy making in nursing department, and a strategy such as special payment for HD nurse's are required.