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Professional autonomy and the work satisfaction of nursing educators
Nursing Research
|May 1, 1976
Summary
Nurse educators prioritize teaching and autonomy over salary. However, job satisfaction is low, particularly concerning decision-making power, highlighting a need for increased faculty autonomy in nursing education.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Higher Education
- Workforce Psychology
Background:
- Nurse faculty roles are critical for training future nurses.
- Understanding factors influencing job satisfaction is key to faculty retention and effectiveness.
- Previous research has not comprehensively assessed the importance and satisfaction levels of various nurse faculty position characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the importance and satisfaction levels associated with 21 characteristics of a nurse faculty position.
- To identify key drivers of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among nursing educators.
- To explore potential strategies for improving nurse faculty morale, recruitment, and retention.
Main Methods:
- Utilized questionnaire data collected in 1974 from 154 nursing educators across four major state universities.
- Survey assessed the perceived importance and satisfaction with 21 distinct characteristics of the nurse faculty role.
- Data analyzed to compare rankings across different institutional settings and demographic groups.
Main Results:
- Teaching, supportive colleagues, maintaining clinical knowledge, and faculty autonomy were rated as most important job aspects.
- Salary, fringe benefits, and extrinsic rewards were ranked significantly lower in importance.
- Overall satisfaction with important job characteristics was generally low, with limited participation in decision-making being a major dissatisfaction source.
- Importance and satisfaction rankings remained consistent across universities and demographic subgroups (marital status, experience).
Conclusions:
- Nurse faculty highly value intrinsic aspects of their role, such as teaching and autonomy, over extrinsic rewards.
- Low satisfaction, especially regarding decision-making power, negatively impacts faculty morale and effectiveness.
- Enhancing professional autonomy for nurse faculty is recommended to improve recruitment, retention, and overall quality of nursing education.