Nurse practice centers and faculty job satisfaction.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Academically-based nurse practice centers are evolving clinical settings.
• Understanding faculty job satisfaction is crucial for workforce retention and center sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the characteristics of academically-based nurse practice centers.
• To assess the job satisfaction levels of nurse faculty members within these centers.
• To explore the relationship between center characteristics and faculty job satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, correlational study design was employed.
• The Boettcher Nursing Center Inventory (BNCI) was developed to characterize nurse practice centers.
• The Brayfield Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (BJSQ) measured faculty job satisfaction.
• Data were collected from 32 centers across 25 states, involving 124 nursing faculty.

Main Results:

• Nurse practice centers provide comprehensive, lifespan nursing care in various settings.
• Key drivers for center development include clinical practice, student learning, research, and income generation.
• Nurse faculty reported high job satisfaction (mean BJSQ score of 70.83 out of 90).
• A significant inverse correlation was found between center budget and faculty job satisfaction (p ≤ .007).

Conclusions:

• Academically-based nurse practice centers are vital for nursing education, practice, and service delivery.
• Nurse faculty exhibit high job satisfaction, indicating positive work environments.
• Budgetary constraints or financial pressures may negatively impact faculty job satisfaction, warranting further investigation.