Nurses' job satisfaction, stress, and recognition in a pediatric setting setting

The purpose of this study was to identify a set of factors that describes nursing satisfaction in the pediatric setting.

An exploratory descriptive design was used. Surveys were distributed to all nurses employed at a children's hospital in the Southeast. The survey included: nursing satisfaction, organizational work satisfaction, job stress, and nurse recognition scales. Two hundred and forty-nine out of 534 pediatric nurses (46%) responded. Data were analyzed using factor analysis and correlation.

The results of this survey demonstrated that several factors predict pediatric nurses' job satisfaction and organizational work satisfaction. These factors include: pay, time to do the nursing care, confidence in one's ability, and task requirements. A relationship among nurses' job satisfaction, organizational work satisfaction, job stress, and recognition in the pediatric setting was also found. Nurses with more years of experience and longevity on the unit and at the hospital had more confidence, showed less concern about time demands, and were less concerned about pay and task requirements than younger nurses. Job stress correlated significantly and inversely with age, years as a nurse, and years in the organization. Older nurses were more satisfied with recognition they received than their younger counterparts.

The findings of this study support the need to focus on programs to increase the confidence of novice nurses, improve institutional nursing recognition for all levels, enhance communication at all levels of the organization, and maintain competitive compensation.