| Learning Objective #1: Describe issues related to job satisfaction of registered nurses employed in the operating room setting | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Apply the concept of adaptive role function as developed by Sister Callista Roy to the outcome of this study |
THE RELATIONSHIP OF BOTH JOB SATISFACTION AND RETENTION OF
REGISTERED NURSES IN THE OPERATING ROOM TO THE
PATTERN OF SKILL MIX
In an effort to reduce costs, many hospitals have reduced the numbers of registered nurses and replaced them with unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). In keeping with this trend many Operating Rooms have increased their numbers of surgical technicians (ST's) in favor of hiring a higher percentage of more costly registered nurses. In this investigation, two samples of RNs were studied: (a) one group from a sample of five operating rooms in which RNs (N = 67) were hired exclusively (b) a second sample of five operating rooms in which a mixture of RNs (N = 84) and STs were utilized. The purpose of this investigation was to determine (a) differences in levels of job satisfaction of the RNs who were members of the two samples of operating rooms and (b) retention rates of RNs in the two samples. For the purposes of this study the findings indicated that (1) The level of job satisfaction was significantly higher in operating rooms that hire RN's exclusively (2) It was also determined that the retention rates were higher for Operating Rooms that employ only registered nursing staff.