Workplace culture among operating room nurses.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Workplace culture in healthcare settings influences care delivery and patient experience.
• The Operating Room (OR) is a high-stress environment impacting nurse job satisfaction and stress levels.
• Competence influences nurses' experiences of job stress or satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the workplace culture within the Operating Room (OR) environment.
• To identify factors associated with workplace culture and their impact on nurses.
• To explore the relationship between nurse roles, work setting, and job stress/satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative, cross-sectional study design.
• Survey administered to 96 Finnish Operating Room (OR) nurses.
• Data collected using the Nursing Context Index via electronic questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Primary role and working unit were key factors in workplace culture and job stress.
• Nurse anaesthetists reported higher job stress compared to scrub nurses.
• OR nurses in local hospitals experienced less workload-related stress and higher job satisfaction, particularly regarding staffing and resources.

Conclusions:

• Nurse managers must recognize diverse workplace culture expressions in the OR.
• Identifying specific stressors for nurse anaesthetists is crucial.
• Addressing workload, staffing, and resource adequacy can improve OR nurse job satisfaction.