Structural empowerment and job satisfaction among nurses coordinators: a pilot study

Introduction. In literature, the structural empowerment and the job satisfaction have been studied in many different work settings but more need to be done in the setting of Head Nurses. Objective. The goal of the study is to evaluate the structural empowerment level of head nurses and if it impacts on the job satisfaction. Materials and methods. A cross sectional design study was used. We enrolled 125 head nurses from three different hospitals of Rome. To collect the data we used a questionnaire that included both a part of the collection of socio-personal data and the two scales (job satisfaction and structural empowerment). We used the SPSS19.0 statistical Software for data analysis and p<0.005 to detect significant results. Results. Head Nurse declared to be not enough satisfied at work (mean=3.43) and their structural empowerment level resulted moderate (mean=3.16). The structural empowerment of head nurses impacts their job satisfaction (p<0.001) especially concerning opportunities for social and professional interactions, praises, awards, audit and responsibilities. Conclusions. Results underline structural empowerment relevance in head nurses job satisfaction. Healthcare organizations need to address job satisfaction to improve quality of care and more specifically that of head nurses since theydirectly impact on nurses job satisfaction.

Key words: job satisfaction, head nurses, nurses coordinators, structural empowerment, empowerment, nurses managers.