ABSTRACT
NURSE FACULTY JOB SATISFACTION: DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION
OF THE
NURSE EDUCATOR SATISFACTION INDEX
The nursing faculty shortage in American is predicted to worsen in the near future. This faculty shortage negatively impacts nursing practice by limiting the numbers of students admitted to nursing programs, and hindering efforts to build a nursing workforce sufficient in number to care for an aging patient population. Guided by Hagedorn’s Framework of Faculty Job Satisfaction, this descriptive, correlational study sought to validate a researcher-developed instrument to measure job satisfaction in a sample of Georgia nurse educators. A web-based survey was distributed to full-time nursing faculty in schools of nursing granting degrees at the associates, masters, and doctoral levels. Statistical analysis of the data included Cronbach’s alpha, split-half correlation, and Pearson’s ‘r’ calculations. Findings revealed the new instrument was reliable and valid for use in the sample of nurse educators. As a whole, Georgia nurse educators were very satisfied with their jobs; the most satisfied participants were those who were: at each end of the age range (youngest and oldest), women, Asians and those of two or more races, married, and held a masters degree. Variables with which nurse educators were most highly satisfied were relationships with students and colleagues, while they were least satisfied with salary and recognition. The conceptual framework was partially supported by this study; the Mediators were significantly related to job satisfaction, while the Triggers were not. Findings from this study have implications for nursing education, research, and practice – by providing a reliable and valid instrument to measure job satisfaction, by revealing the importance of student and peer relationships to nursing faculty, and the need for workload reduction and improvements in salary. Study findings may be used to guide decision making by college and nursing administrations in recruitment and retention efforts to build the nursing faculty workforce
