Last update:
02-Feb-2012

OBJECTIVE The health sector is considered to be one of the most stressful working environments, contributing to chronic stress and burn-out, which are associated with reduced job satisfaction in nurses and other healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of job satisfaction among nurses in medical wards.

METHOD A valid and reliable psychometric tool, the Job-Communication Satisfaction Importance (JCSI) questionnaire, was distributed to medical ward nurses in the National Health System hospitals in Athens, Greece.

RESULTS The questionnaire was completed and returned by 102 nurses. There was satisfactory representation of sexes, age groups and educational levels in the responding sample. In general, all participants, but especially the women and older nurses, stated that the demands of their job have a negative influence on the time and energy that they devote to themselves and their families, while the converse does not appear to apply, i.e. their family matters do not influence their work. The majority of nurses stated that they experience high levels of satisfaction and success in their work and they attribute great importance to these issues. Overall, sex and age, but not the level of nursing education, were shown to influence the attitudes of the participating nurses.

CONCLUSIONS Nurses are motivated by love of the job and the relationships that it creates with the other members of the multidisciplinary team. Improving working and financial conditions could improve the ways in which nurses experience their job.

Key words: Interpersonal relations, Job satisfaction, Medical wards, Nursing personnel.