Professional Quality of Life in Nursing: The Role of Psychological Resources-A Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Nurses and nursing technicians are essential providers of patient care but remain highly vulnerable due to the demands of their profession, which can profoundly affect their professional quality of life. Understanding the risk and protective factors underlying different aspects of professional quality of life is crucial for fostering healthcare professionals' overall well-being and ensuring high-quality care for patients. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between professional quality of life, work-related factors, PTSD symptomatology and individual resources, including resilience and coping strategies. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 119 nurses from various nursing departments. A questionnaire comprising sociodemographic and work-related variables and four validated instruments, Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 (ProQOL-5), PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Brief-COPE and Brief Resilience Scale, was used for data collection. Results: Findings revealed moderate to high compassion satisfaction among nurses and technicians, as well as low to moderate burnout and moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress. Compassion satisfaction was positively associated with problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, whereas higher levels of compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress) were associated with avoidant coping, greater PTSD symptom severity, and lower resilience. Resilience, problem-focused coping, and PTSD symptom severity were identified as significant predictors of professional quality of life. Conclusions: To support nurses' and technicians' well-being, healthcare organizations should encourage open conversations about the emotional demands of patient care and provide interventions that promote effective coping and address PTSD symptoms, ultimately helping to reduce compassion fatigue and enhance compassion satisfaction.