An international perspective: job satisfaction among transplant nurses

The high demand for transplant nurses across the world leads us to examine job design and job satisfaction because job satisfaction is linked to better outcomes for patients.

To describe international transplant nurses' perspectives of job design and job satisfaction by using Herzberg's theory of motivation.

Descriptive, correlational design. An electronic version of the Job Design and Job Satisfaction survey was mailed to all members of the International Transplant Nurses Society.

A total of 331 members of the International Transplant Nurses Society responded to the survey. The mean age of respondents was 44.12 years, they had worked a mean of 19.12 years in nursing and 10.22 years in transplantation, and 50.6% of respondents were transplant nurse coordinators. Respondents were very satisfied overall with their jobs; they perceived that transplant nursing requires a high level of nonrepetitive, complex skills, autonomy in personal initiative and judgment, cooperation and collaboration with others, and that the job allows for completion of the work. Respondents were satisfied with pay, fringe benefits, and supervision. The feeling that the job could positively and significantly affect others was very strong.

Results of this study provide empirical evidence supporting the perceived benefits and challenges of working in transplantation and support Herzberg's theory that motivators leading to job satisfaction include achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and advancement. Transplant nursing includes many of these motivators and desirable characteristics, including autonomy and working with a multidisciplinary team on a clear, patient-centered goal.