| Learning Objective #1: Describe the impact of work-condition stressors within four nursing specialties | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Summarize organizational factors that may mediate work-condition stress and improve retention of nurses |
Objective: Identify nursing work-condition stress factors suggesting effective organizational interventions, and assess differences among four specialties in factors and in relationships of work-related stress and retention.
Design: Descriptive study using 79-item questionnaire including Aiken's 51-item Nursing Work Conditions Index-Revised (NWIR) to collect information about overall stress, work-condition stressors, intention-to-stay, and demographics.
Population, Sample, Setting, Years: All nurses employed full-time in Emergency Department (ED), Critical Care (CC), Medical-Surgical (MS) and Postpartum (PP) in two N.W. U.S. hospitals in 2002. Of 450 nurses, 50% (n=225) returned completed surveys.
Concepts or Variables Studied Together: Overall work-related stress in diverse nursing specialties related to organizational outcome of retention, and differences among specialties for specific work-condition stress factors.
Methods: 79-item questionnaires placed in work mailboxes of subjects, collected eight days later. Differences in stressors and retention measures assessed by ANOVA, with specific work-condition factors identified using factor analysis.
Findings: Specialties reported similar levels of moderate or higher overall stress (ED=44.4%; CC=43.5%; MS=48.5%; PP=26.3%, p=.09). Significant differences exist for intent to leave unit (p=.006) or nursing (p=.007) within one year, with MS nurses most likely to leave unit (20.4%) and ED nurses 2-3 times more likely to leave nursing (22.3%). Factor analysis of NWIR using oblique rotation yielded eight work-condition-stress factors (e.g., culture, leadership relationships, support) accounting for 57% of variance. Significant differences across specialties exist for 6 of 8 factors with ED nurses consistently lower for work-condition stress than MS and PP.
Conclusions: Higher overall stress is associated with negative outcomes of leaving unit or leaving nursing for all specialties. Specific work-condition factors identified suggest broad categories of interventions addressing work stress.
Implications: With the long-term nursing shortage, retention is an organizational issue affecting both practice conditions and patient care. Work-condition-stressor differences suggest that effective interventions must be nursing-specialty specific.
Back to Nursing Identity
Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003