The Relationship Between Critical Care Work Environment and Professional Quality of Life

Professional quality of life is the quality a person feels in relation to work. For critical care nurses, it is composed of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Professional quality of life is affected by work environment. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has identified 6 standards for a healthy work environment.

To explore which of the AACN healthy work environment standards have the strongest impact on professional quality of life in critical care nurses.

In an exploratory, cross-sectional survey of nurses working in 4 adult critical care units of a single health care facility, professional quality of life was assessed using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and work environment was evaluated using the AACN Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool.

Participants reported compassion satisfaction and burnout levels as average and secondary traumatic stress levels as high. The composite average for all 6 AACN healthy work environment standards was good. A multiple regression analysis revealed true collaboration, effective decision-making, and authentic leadership as significant predictors of compassion satisfaction. Authentic leadership was the only predictor of burnout. Appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership were predictors of secondary traumatic stress.

Authentic leadership is the strongest predictor of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Therefore, improving leadership should be a priority in intensive care units seeking to improve nurses' professional quality of life.