The effects of staff nurses' morale on patient satisfaction

This study, designed by descriptive and inferential methods, study aimed to examine staff nurses' morale and its effect on patient satisfaction, the most commonly used variable to measure patient outcomes. Data were collected with structured questionnaires from 332 nurses and 265 inpatients in 21 medical-surgical units of a medical center in Taiwan. All registered nurses (RN) among the 21 sample units were recruited and administered with Litwin and Stringerm's (1968) Work Morale Scale, which was modified by Hsu in 1981. A convenience sampling was implemented to select those patients who had been admitted for at least 3 days and were ready to be discharged. Yang's (1997) Nursing-Sensitive Patient Satisfaction Scale was used to measure patient outcomes. The results showed that job position and pay had a significant effect on nurses' work morale. Nurses' work morale may not necessarily be an impact factor on patient satisfaction, but it accounts for 66.7 percent of the discriminate power to predict nursing-sensitive patient satisfaction. In view of the findings, every attempt should be made to highlight the nature of a caring profession. Nursing leaders should put effort into improving nurses' involvement and identification with their organizations, both of which are significant factors associated with nursing unit morale. The findings of this study may contribute to a body of knowledge regarding nurses' work morale and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes.