An Investigation of Job Satisfaction among Nurses in the Emergency Department

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the overall job satisfaction among Emergency Department (ED) nurses. Job satisfaction is an important factor linked to nursing turnover. With the amount of ED nursing turnover on the rise, as well as ED visits increasing, it is important to understand factors that affect job satisfaction in efforts to retain knowledgeable and experienced ED nurses. A satisfaction survey containing specific job factors that affect job satisfaction was designed and utilized to survey ED nurses. These job factors were adopted from the McCloskey-Mueller Satisfaction Survey (MMSS), which is a reliable and validated survey used in many job satisfaction studies similar to this one. An online company called Survey Monkey hosted the satisfaction survey. A social media flyer that contained the survey link was posted to ED nurse’s social media groups on Facebook, in efforts to advertise the survey to ED nurses across the United States. Basic demographic information along with responses to seven satisfaction questions were collected. A total of 89 respondents from 31 different states were represented in this study. There were 75 females and 14 males that completed the survey. The majority of respondents had their BSN, while 33 held an ASN, and 8 held an MSN. Seventy-two percent of ED nurses were satisfied overall with their current ED job. Males and females were found to have almost the exact same overall job satisfaction rates. Associate degree nurses were found to have the highest overall job satisfaction. Respondents were most satisfied with the job itself and working relationships while working conditions, achievement/recognition, and company policies were found to have the lowest satisfaction scores.