Predictors of Middle Level Nurse Managers' Role Satisfaction

This presentation is part of : Nursing Administration Issues

Allison W. Patrick, BSc, MN, School of Nursing, Department of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada and Heather K. S. Laschinger, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.

on nursing and nursing leadership in healthcare organizations across Ontario. The downsizing of nursing human resources has contributed to a decreased presence of nursing leadership within health care organizations. Nurse Managers accounted for 7.7% of the registered nursing workforce in 2000 compared to 10.1% in 1994 – a loss of approximately 5,500 manager positions.(CIHI, 2001). The loss of nursing leadership positions has affected the quality of work environments for nurses. The under-representation of nursing leaders in health care organizations has left the remaining nurse leaders with limited power to create positive work environments, mentor first line nurse managers and experience satisfaction in their leadership role. This is a cause for concern as these conditions threaten the retention and recruitment of current and future nurse leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between structural empowerment and perceived organizational support and the effect of these factors on the role satisfaction of middle level nurse managers. Eighty-four middle level nurse managers responded to a questionnaire as part of a larger study of middle level nurse managers working in Canadian acute care hospitals. Structural empowerment accounted for 42% of the variance in perceived organizational support and 36% of the variance in role satisfaction. Both were significant predictors of middle level nurse managers’ role satisfaction. Kanter’s contention that empowering work conditions influence an employee’s feelings of support and sense of achievement was supported. These findings suggest that perceived organizational support may play an important role in the retention and recruitment of current and future nurse leaders in health care organizations.

Learning Objective #1: The learner will recognize the importance of structural empowerment and its influence on middle level nurse managers’ perceptions of organizational support.
Learning Objective #2: The learner will understand the impact of factors such as structural empowerment and perceived organizational support on the role satisfaction of middle level nurse managers.