Nurses' quality of working life in an HMO: a comparative study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Quality of Working Life
• Healthcare Workforce Studies
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• The quality of nurses' working life is crucial for healthcare system performance.
• Understanding variations in job satisfaction, tension, and commitment among different nursing roles is essential.
• Previous research has not fully delineated these factors across distinct nursing cadres within a health maintenance organization (HMO).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the quality of working life dimensions among nurse practitioners (NPs), registered nurses (RNs), and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs).
• To compare levels of job satisfaction, job tension, and organizational commitment across these three nursing groups within an HMO setting.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 111 nurses: 14 NPs, 47 RNs, and 50 LVNs.
• Data were collected on three key dimensions: job satisfaction, job tension, and organizational commitment.
• Statistical analyses were performed to compare these dimensions across the different nursing roles.

Main Results:

• Nurse practitioners demonstrated significantly higher job satisfaction compared to both RNs and LVNs.
• RNs reported significantly higher job satisfaction than LVNs.
• While NPs and RNs reported higher job tension and organizational commitment than LVNs, these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Job satisfaction levels increase with nursing role advancement, with NPs showing the highest satisfaction.
• Job tension and organizational commitment show trends but lack statistically significant differences across the studied nursing groups.
• Findings highlight the importance of role and professional development in enhancing nurses' job satisfaction within HMOs.