L’étendue effective de la pratique d’infirmières en pédiatrie : ses déterminants et son influence sur la satisfaction professionnelle

Optimal deployment of the scope of nursing practice, through which nurses’ professional role is expressed, is essential for ensuring accessibility, continuity, quality, and safety of care, including those provided to children and their families. Even so, it seems that nurses encounter certain difficulties when it comes to fully deploying their scope of practice. The impossibility of carrying out care activities that form part of the scope of nursing practice can also compromise job satisfaction, a major issue for healthcare organizations in terms of staff retention. The aim of this study is to measure the actual scope of nursing practice in pediatrics, its determinants, and its influence on professional satisfaction.  The reference framework, an original model developed in this thesis, is based on job characteristics theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1974), the job demand-control model (Karasek, 1985), role theory (Biddle, 1979) and the work of D’Amour et al. (2012) on scope of nursing practice. To achieve the study objectives, the model developed here examines the relationships between job characteristics and individual characteristics that can potentially influence the deployment of scope of nursing practice. The model also proposes a link between scope of nursing practice and professional satisfaction, a distinct dimension of job satisfaction.  A descriptive correlational design was used for this study. A survey was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire completed by nurses in five activity sectors of a pediatric university hospital (N = 301). Variability in both actual scope of nursing practice and professional satisfaction was explained using sequential multivariate regressions assuming an additive and moderating effect for individual characteristics. The potential mediating effect of scope of nursing practice between job characteristics and professional satisfaction was verified using structural equations modelling.   The analyses reveal good fit for the model developed (x²/df ratio index = 1.68, RMSEA = .049, CFI = .985). Altogether, the model explains 32.5% of the variance for actual scope of practice and 11.3% of the variance for professional satisfaction. The results show   non-optimal deployment of the scope of nursing practice (3.21/6; SD = .707). The analyses demonstrated the significant influence on actual scope of nursing practice of certain variables of the model: decision latitude (β = .319; p <0.01), role overload (β = .201; p <0.05), role ambiguity (β = .297; p <0.05), nurse growth need (β = .151; p <0.05) and education level (β = .128; p <0.05). They also showed that actual scope of nursing practice exerts a positive influence on professional satisfaction (β = .118; p <0.01).  A more detailed examination of nurses’ actual scope of practice in relation to education level and position occupied showed the scope of practice for baccalaureate-educated nurses to be significantly higher than that of nurses with college diplomas, with scores of 3.35 (SD = .746) and 3.12 (SD = .669) respectively. Occupying a nurse clinician position also had a positive influence on actual scope of nursing practice. Specifically, the mean score for staff nurses was 3.13/6 (SD = .664), while that for nurse clinicians was higher, at 3.48/6 (SD = .798).   The results of this study break new ground by presenting a model with the potential to generate important knowledge in nursing related to the optimal deployment of nurses’ scope of practice. Based on this innovative model, the results highlight job characteristics that require urgent action in order to broaden the deployment of nurses’ scope of practice and thereby to increase professional satisfaction.

Keyphrases: Administration des services infirmiers, Scope of practice, Professional satisfaction, Professional practice, Practice setting, Nursing role, Nursing administration, Education level