[Requirements of optimal working conditions and patient-centered care in hospital nursing]

Nursing--a human service increasing in size and significance--is facing deep changes. The organization of hospital wards is also influenced by these profound changes. The aim of this psychological research project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Science, Research and Technology (BMBF) and part of the Saxonian Public Health Association was to determine the external and individual working conditions that put the personnel's health at risk, particularly in regard to burnout syndromes. Investigations should show possibilities in work organization that minimize such risks. Organizational designs have to ensure high quality levels of nursing care, as well as high quality of working conditions in nursing for the individual employee. This empirical study presents the results of an investigation of 53 medical, surgical and intensive care units of 7 Saxonian hospitals with 336 employees of the nursing departments. The size of the hospital, the service profile, the nursing standards and the organizational conditions of the nursing service influence work pressure and working attitude.