중소종합병원 간호사의 긍정심리자본, 간호근무환경이 간호직무만족에 미치는 영향

Abstract

This study is a descriptive survey to identify the extent of positive psychological capital, nursing work environment, and nurses’ job satisfaction and to identify the effects of positive psychological capital and nursing work environment on nurses’ job satisfaction among nurses in small and medium-sized general hospitals. The subjects of this study were nurses with more than 6 months of experience in two medium-sized general hospitals in S city who understood the purpose of the study and gave written consent to participate in the study. Data were collected from November 9 to November 23, 2023 through a structured self-report questionnaire, and 124 copies were used in the final analysis. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 29.0 program using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, multiple linear regression analysis, and post hoc test using Scheffe test.

The main findings of this study are as follows;

1. When looking at the general characteristics of the subjects, 44 (35.5%) of the subjects were in their 20s, and 110 (88.7%) were female. In terms of marital status, 83 (66.9%) were single, 92 (74.2%) had children, and 79 (63.7%) were religious. In terms of highest level of education, 86 (69.4%) have a four-year college degree. In terms of subjective economic status, 84 (67.7%) reported being in the "medium" range, and 67 (54%) reported being in the "fair/poor" range. In terms of total clinical experience, 44 (35.5%) had more than 10 years of experience, 52 (41.9%) worked in general wards, and 85 (68.5%) were registered nurses. In terms of work type, 73 (58.9%) were working shifts (second and third shifts), and 51 (41.1%) had changed jobs twice or more.

2. The mean of positive psychological capital perceived by the subjects was 4.12±0.68 out of 6, the mean of nursing work environment was 2.38±0.40 out of 4, and the mean of nursing job satisfaction was 2.02±0.50 out of 4.

3. The general characteristics that showed significant differences in nursing job satisfaction according to general characteristics were religion (t=2.16, p=.032), subjective health status (t=4.09, p<.001), and work department (F=10.07, p<.001).

4. Job satisfaction was positively related to all four subdomains of positive psychological capital: self-efficacy (r=.404, p<.001), hope (r=.624, p<.001), optimism (r=.514, p<.001), and resilience (r=.481, p<.001). Job satisfaction was also positively related to five subdomains of nursing work environment: nurses' involvement in hospital operations (r=. 627, p<.001), 'Adequacy of personnel and resources' (r=.483, p<.001), 'Foundation for quality nursing care' (r=.613, p<.001), 'Ability, leadership and support of nursing managers' (r=.627, p<.001), and 'Cooperation between nurses and physicians' (r=.424, p<.001).

5. The factors that significantly influenced the nursing job satisfaction of the research subjects were identified as 'hope' (β=.399, p<.001), a subdomain of positive psychological capital; 'foundation for quality nursing care' (β=.272, p=.004), a subdomain of nursing work environment; 'competence, leadership and support of nursing managers' (β=.217, p=.009); and 'good subjective health' (β=.124, p=.042), with a final explanatory power of 63.6%.

In this study, nurses' job satisfaction in small and medium-sized general hospitals was influenced by ‘hope’ of positive psychological capital, ‘foundation for quality nursing care’ and ‘competence, leadership and support of nursing managers’of nursing work environment, and subjective health status, and positive psychological capital was the most influential factor on nurses’ job satisfaction. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that measures to increase positive psychological capital are needed to improve nursing job satisfaction among nurses in small and medium-sized general hospitals. In addition, it is necessary to develop strategies and interventions that can create a positive nursing work environment. Since nurses have higher job satisfaction when they maintain good health, it is necessary to promote nurses' health promotion behaviors. The significance of this study was that it identified factors related to nurses’ job satisfaction among nurses in small and medium-sized general hospitals, and the results of this study can be used as a basis for preparing interventions and strategies to improve nurses’ job satisfaction and for managing nursing personnel.