Paper
Saturday, November 3, 2007

39
This presentation is part of : Leadership in the Academic Setting
Social Support and Job Satisfaction among Academic Nursing Leaders in California
Ronda D. Mintz-Binder, DNP, MN, BSN, BA, RN, Nursing-Academic Affairs, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Learning Objective #1: state 3 distinctions between the designated administrative and faculty level director positions that contributed to the measured differences in job satisfaction and social support.
Learning Objective #2: list 3 reasons why long standing vacancies exist in these positions and 2 possible solutions, based on data analysis and presented interpretation.
            There is a paucity of research at the Associate Degree Registered Nursing Program level and yet, in the state of California, 70% of all RN graduates practice with an Associate Registered Nursing Degree. The state of California requires that all pre-licensure nursing programs have an approved program director to remain accredited. These positions generally are in two distinct classifications: (a) administrative level: dean, associate/assistant dean or program director, or (b) faculty level: department chair or program director. With these classifications there are differences in job duties, reporting authority, and responsibility.

            Over the last few years, there have been increases in position vacancies as well as lengthy posted, unfilled positions.  The Personal Resource Questionnaire 2000 (Weinert, 2003) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985) were used in this study to measure the two primary variables of interest: social support and job satisfaction. Data were collected by survey at The California Organization of Associate Degree Registered Nursing Conference held in October, 2006. The response rate of 98.5% represented 80.5% of total Associate Degree Nursing Directors in the state. There was a significant relationship between social support and job satisfaction among the total group of directors. Additionally, one social support subscale and six job satisfaction subscales were significantly related. There was not a significant difference on social support or job satisfaction measures based on position level (administrative or faculty) when the total group was included. However, when only permanent status directors were assessed, a significant difference was found; those in faculty level positions had lower scores on both instruments. Qualitative data indicated marked differences in perceptions between these two classifications as well as strong requests for additional assistance. These findings lend support for the position to be at the administrative level. Implications for nursing education administration and recommendations for future research will be discussed.            

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