THE PROCESS OF ATTACHMENT: COMMITMENT PATTERNS OF REGISTERED NURSES (HOME HEALTH, ONCOLOGY).
Contributors: Gonzaga University.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 279
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Health Care Management.
Description: The process by which Registered Nurses develop work-related commitments and how that process influences commmitment to the organization is examined in this study. Commitment is defined as an identification with selected health or work-related goals and values that are presented by groups or individuals within the organization. Patterns of attitudes and behaviors in support of certain health-related goals and values are identified and analyzed.

Researchers generally agree upon the desirability of matching employee goals and values with organizational goals and values. Such goal and value alignment is said to improve work attitudes and increase performance. Organizational commitment has been related to such desirable outcomes as decreased absenteeism and turnover. Global measures of organizational commitment used in most studies, however, fail to capture the commitment experiences of many Registered Nurses whose loyalty is solicited daily by intra-organizational constituencies.

A series of depth interviews with 14 Registered Nurses, six from a hospital oncology unit and eight from two home health agencies revealed several themes related to the formation of intra-organizational commitments: (a) Work-related goal and value formation is a complex, longitudinal process that begins long before most nurses are hired and continues throughout their working lives. The more clearly defined the values of either individuals or organizations, the stronger the commitment. (b) Nurses are primarily committed to patients, often showing both attitudes and behavior in support of patient concerns, indicating the desire to "make a difference" in the lives of their patients. (c) Nurses in both settings exhibited commitment to their peers in their immediate work group. Important aspects of this commitment are the giving of emotional support, assistance with workloads, and friendship. (d) Participatory management practices in the home health setting strongly contributed to feelings of attachment to the organization. Many of the informants associated this with feelings of autonomy and control over their practice. Nurses in the hospital setting did not identify participatory management practices.

Recommendations are offered regarding management practices that should increase employee attachment to the organization.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: B, page: 1351.

Thesis (ED.D.)--GONZAGA UNIVERSITY, 1990.

School code: 0736.