In-service Nursing Education an Important Factor for Job Satisfaction: An Exploratory Observational Study Among Nursing Professionals in an Apex Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of India

Abstract

Information regarding job satisfaction of nursing officers helps in identifying areas for keeping them motivated, leading to better patient care and satisfaction. This study aimed to determine the level of job satisfaction amongst nursing professionals in a tertiary care teaching hospital and identify areas for improvement. A cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted among the nursing professionals at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi from July 2016 to June 2017. Study participants included all the nursing officers (approximately 3,000) working in the institute. A pre-validated 24-item questionnaire using a seven-point Likert scale broadly covered seven domains of job satisfaction. A pilot study was conducted on 100 participants, and Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to be .78. The questionnaires were posted to the study participants in their respective work areas in sealed envelopes. The overall score for job satisfaction was 4.56 ± 0.70. The domain-wise job satisfaction of the nursing staff in decreasing order was: work interaction with co-workers, communication, relationship with supervisor, career development, patient care, administration and nursing education. Overall, the job satisfaction levels of nursing administrators were higher across all domains as compared to bedside nurses. Qualitatively, 32.3% of the responders expressed that the shortage of staff was a major problem in delivering their best effort. Overall, job satisfaction among nursing personnel working in a public hospital is low, except for two domains related to co-workers and communication. Training of the nursing officers and relationships with supervisors are the areas that need immediate attention, as they reported as having the lowest satisfaction scores among the nursing officers.