Type of Project

Research

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Institution/Department

Nursing, Maine Medical Center

MeSH Headings

Personal Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, Personnel Turnover

Abstract

Is trucking along enough? An exploration of mid-career nurses’ satisfaction

Heather Docherty RN, BSN, BA, MA, CMRSN

Background: The topic of nursing retention and satisfaction has been the focus of much research; many studies have focused on the experience of novice nurses. This project focuses on exploring the factors that influence the job satisfaction of nurses who are “mid-career” in a sample of hospital’s medical surgical units. The approach to this work is informed by the theoretical work of Benner’s model of novice to expert as well Maslow’s work on hierarchy of needs.

Literature Review: A literature search was conducted in the spring of 2017 using keywords such as “nursing career satisfaction”, “job satisfaction”, mid-career nurses” and “nurse residency program”. Six articles were found that informed the topic; they were summarized in tabular format. A valid and reliable measure of nurse career overall satisfaction was also as included as a part of this review.

Purpose: PICOT What are the characteristics of nursing career satisfaction in mid-career nurses who work in a 3 medical surgical settings in a large teaching hospital in the northeastern United States?.

Methods/Discussion: This study used a quantitative approach using a survey which did not contain respondent identifiers. Permission to utilize the survey tool was obtained from the author. The survey, along with a letter of introduction, was distributed among three medical surgical units to mid-career nurses (had worked between 10-30 years); 28 were returned. Data analysis is pending.

Results: Information from this literature review and survey is expected to inform an intervention that will address mid-career nursing satisfaction.

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