While most nurses generally are satisfied with their jobs, many have a negative outlook for the future, according to a survey released by Jackson Healthcare, Care Logistics and Jackson Nurse Professionals.
Factors such as inadequate staff to cover the number of patients and the addition of peripheral duties and documentation for regulatory requirements were cited by large numbers of the 1,333 hospital-based RNs surveyed as inhibiting time with patients. Even indirect care such as patient care coordination, paperwork and documentation takes nurses away from patients’ bedsides. Nurses reported these tasks can take between two and four hours of their workdays.
Teamwork and communication are crucial as nurses become bigger players at hospitals. Most RNs surveyed rate these essentials as good or excellent, but 30% said they feel bullied at work, either by their superiors, peers or physicians. Additionally, almost three-quarters of those surveyed reported feeling pressured to positively influence patient satisfaction surveys.
More than half the nurse respondents said the profession has changed for the worse. Job satisfaction had a direct bearing on a nurse’s outlook for the future of the profession. Of those who dissatisfied with their roles, 75% said nursing has changed for the worse, compared with 39% of RNs who are satisfied with their jobs.
“Maintaining a positive workplace culture in our hospitals not only fosters better job satisfaction, it also can improve a nurse’s performance and subsequently, even enhance patient outcomes,” Bob Schlotman, chief marketing officer of Jackson Healthcare, a healthcare staffing company, said in a news release.
The study was conducted online from September through October 2013. Invitations for the survey were emailed to 59,336 RNs, which included those who had been placed by Jackson Healthcare staffing companies and who had not.
The 1,333 hospital RNs who participated in the survey were self-selected and represented each specialty and region of the U.S.
Source: http://news.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014302150008#.VW5YwUb1Bqk
