RELATIONSHIP OF LOCUS OF CONTROL, POWERLESSNESS, AND JOB SATISFACTION AS PERCEIVED BY NURSES IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.
Contributors: University of San Francisco.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 169
Subjects: Education, Higher.
Description: Registered nurses constitute the largest professional group providing health care in hospitals. Research reports that they are finding the hospital a progressively less satisfying place in which to practice. The literature has identified both personal and job-related factors which contribute to this problem. Among those cited as personal, locus of control is deemed relevant. Regarding job-related factors, the perception of powerlessness is considered significant. The purpose of this study was to determine the direction and magnitude of the relationship of locus of control, powerlessness, and job satisfaction.

Six hospitals were selected for this study: one large, one small, one teaching, one non-teaching, one private, and one non-private. Ten percent of the registered nurses employed at each of the six hospitals (i.e., a total of 171 nurses) received a questionnaire. One hundred forty-five responded. There was no return rate of less than 80 percent from any hospital.

Scores from the questionnaires were subjected to parametric and nonparametric statistical tests. The findings of this study revealed that there was a significant amount of variability in job satisfaction scores. Practically all of the variability was due to the powerlessness variable. Furthermore, powerlessness appears to be highly related to job satisfaction for the large, small, private, non-private, and teaching hospitals, but not for the non-teaching hospital. From these results it can be stated that job satisfaction scores are predicted by powerlessness scores but not by locus of control scores.

The findings of this study have implications for both hospital managers and nursing eduators. A re-evaluation of the existing hospital organizational structure in terms of who defines and controls the practice of nursing is needed. Also, nursing educators need to redesign nursing curricula in order to teach strategies that will help graduates obtain more professional power.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-07, Section: A, page: 2002.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1984.

School code: 6019.