Effective Human Resource Management in Nursing - Research Proposal Example

Amany Anwar Alabdullah Nursing Job stress, satisfaction, and intention to leave among new Saudi Nurses By Amany Anwar Alabdullah Supervised by Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the doctor degree in Nursing May 2014 Background Information and Literature Review Human resource forms the backbone of every organization and its efficient management is fundamental the nursing profession that requires a motivated workforce. This establishes the need to identify factors that may have negative effects on motivation in order to develop and retain and effective and efficient workforce in a nursing organization. Existence of stress in a work environment may, for example, reduce employees’ level of utility and therefore undermine goals of human resource management. According to Applebaum (2008, p. 59), this relationship is positive and therefore means that stress reduces satisfaction in a work environment. The author further associates stress with a positive effect on employee turnover rate. Aflab (2013, p. 12) explains possible factors to the association between workplace stress and both employee’s satisfaction and turnover. According to the author, stress increaser “safety and healthiness hazards” (12) whose effects include poor psychological health and increased susceptibility to injury and diseases. Cheng (2009, p. 11) supports the role of workplace stress in increasing employee turnover rate and introduces an interaction effect between stress and employee satisfaction to in influencing turnover rate. With reference to the role of organizational change on employees, the author argues that employees’ values influence their stress on job. Stress and job satisfaction then affect each other before they, each, influence employee turnover rate. Empirical studies shows existence of many factors to job stress, job satisfaction, and employees’ intention to leave their organizations, observations that could be indicative of the environment in the nursing profession. A study that aimed at investigating relationship between job stress and depressive symptoms among nurses in Korea established significance of job stress that translates to the symptoms. The symptoms further relates to some work environment factors such as job security and absence of reward. These imply significance of pleasure at work on employees stress that the depressive symptoms can detect (Yoon and Kim 2013, p. 171- 173). Vijay and Vazirani (2012, p. 48- 50) also explains significance of job stress in the nursing environment. Based on empirical results from a study on causes and moderators of stress, the authors note that job environment such as dealing with difficult associates of patients, poor remuneration, and challenges in interpersonal relations influences level of stress in nurses. The level of stress that a nurse experiences may also be dependent on personal factors such as experience and family variables, as Nabirye, Brown, Pryor and Maples observed in Ugandan nurses (2011, p. 763, 764). Pressure from the work environment as well as personal factors could therefore influence stress levels among nurses. Like job stress, diversified factors exist that affect employees’ satisfaction in the workplace. In the nursing profession, according to Altuntas (2014, p. 513), factors like type of job, level of education, and years of experience are some of the determinants of employees’ satisfaction. In China and Korea, professionalism and demographical factors are determinants of nurses satisfaction in their jobs (Hwang et al. 2009, p. 315). In addition, job satisfaction is a factor to employee turnover and this makes it significant. Nurses who are satisfied in their jobs, according to Omar, Majid, Halim and Johari, are less likely to desire mobility (2013, p. 49- 51). Job satisfaction among nurses and demographic factors are also significant to employee turnover, an observation that supports existence of a relationship between stress and job satisfaction as factors to employee turnover (Chan, Tam, Lung, Wong and Chau 2013, p. 1384- 1387; Tsai and Wu 2010, p. 3568- 3570). Other factors that affect employee turnover are “professionalism, caring, rules, independence climate, and organizational commitment,” and support the notion that job demands, job control, and social and personal factors are important to effective human resource management in nursing (Borhani, Jahali, Abbaszadeh and Haghdoost 2014, p. 278). Problem statement Despite existence of diversified empirical literature on factors to job stress, job satisfaction, and employee turnover, little research exist on the factors regarding transition experience of newly graduated nurses to the workplace. Socialization theory introduced by Kramer is the only existing evidence (2010, p. 20). The impacts of job demands, job control, and social support have not been theoretically addressed in a comprehensive model among this population. In addition, the role that self-efficacy plays in the transition remains unexplored. This identifies knowledge gap on the factors in graduate nurses and therefore establishes need for the study. Aim of the study The study aims at investigating effects of perceived demands, control, support and self-efficacy on job stress, job satisfaction and intension to leave their profession among new graduated nurses in Saudi Arabia Research question The study explores the following research questions. 1. What are the effect of job demands and job control on the job stress, job satisfaction, and intension to leave of newly gradated nurses? 2. Do perceptions of coworker support, supervisor support, and self-efficacy moderate the effects of demands and control on the job stress, job satisfaction, and intension to leave of newly graduated nurses? Significance of the study The study is significant to new graduate nurses and to nurse managers. In developing a basis for intervention measures for easy transition into the workplace, the study will equip nurse managers with the potential to mentor and orientate the new workers. Consequently, the study’s findings will help graduate nurses to integrate into their work environment with limited complications. Existing demographic and work environment factors in Saudi Arabia that cause stress in graduate nurses also establishes significance of the study towards generating solutions to the stress. Methods Design Cross-sectional survey design is proposed for the study. The quantitative approach offers advantages of reliability and validity and is easy to implement as it has fewer legal and ethical implications. In addition, a survey design is more cost effective that other quantitative research designs. Questionnaires will be used to implement the design with data collected, simultaneously, from three hospitals. Sample and setting Newly graduated nurses in Saudi Arabia forms the study’s population and consist of all nurses with less than two years of work experiences upon graduation. A convenience approach will be used to sample participants from three hospitals. The method involves identification and sampling of readily available individuals. Three hospitals will be selected at random and all registered nurses with less than two years of experience who will be willing to participate in the study will be sampled. The convenience sampling approach is proposed because of its cost effectiveness and ease of implementation (Ellison, Farrant and Barwick 2009, p. 198). Basing sampling on particiants’ willingness also has the potential of increased response rate and minimized bias. Inclusion and exclusion criteria A member of the study’s population shall, however, be included in the sample if he or she meets the following inclusion criteria. Is a female or a male Saudi nurse who completed the orientation periods specified by the institution of hire Is a nurse who work independently with their own patient assignments Is a nurse who graduated from Saudi Arabia Is a nurse within the first two years of professional practice and were working in acute care unit Works on a full time basis Holds active licensure as a registered nurse Has a diploma or baccalaureate or master or PhD degree in nursing The following conditions, however defines the exclusion criteria. Nurses who are in the orientation periods Nurses who have not handled their patient yet Charge nurses (manager) and supervisors. Nurses who did not graduated from Saudi Arabia. Nurses work more than two years of professional practice and were working in critical care unit or out patient. Nurses working part time Nurses without an active licensure as registered nurses Variables Job demand, job control, self-efficacy, and social support are the study’s independent variables, each measured on scaled questionnaires. Job stress, job satisfaction, and intention to leave are the study’s dependent variables and are measured based on scaled questionnaires. Procedure A proposal of aims of the study, data collection procedures, and strategies for managing possible ethical issues will be presented to the institution’s ethics review board for approval. Once approved, three hospitals will be identified for the study and their managers contacted for informed consent for implementing the study in their institutions. A pilot study will then be conducted in another different hospital, following informed consent from the hospital’s management and participants in the pilot study. Nurses who meet the inclusion criteria will then be recruited in the selected hospitals and the scope of the study and possible implications explained to them. Questionnaires will then be used to collect data on the study’s variables. Framework for analysis The data collected will be coded, categorized and tabulated. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be analyzed. Analysis of variable and regression analysis will be conducted to investigate possible relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Theoretical framework Karasek’s Job demands-Control support forms the basis of the study. According to the framework, job demand and job control, with their factors such as required “physical, psychological, or emotional effort” are significant to the association between causes of stress and resultant strain in employees (Weiner, Schmitt and Highhouse 2012, n.p). the relationship between stress and employee satisfaction and their interactive effect on intention to quit work therefore suggest effects of job demand, job control, and self-efficacy on employees’ level of stress, level of satisfaction, and intentions to leave work. The study therefore anticipates a positive relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. Ethical concerns Even though survey design eliminates ethical concerns in a study, respect for participants’ autonomy and confidentiality of research participants are significant ethical concerns to the study. Autonomy concern is likely to arise when a research participant is engaged without his or her informed consent and could occur by mistake. It could also occur during data collection if a participant is forced to respond to a prompt. Breach of confidentiality may occur through disclosure of private information that can identify participants. This further breaches anonymity and beneficence doctrines as it could lead to victimization of nurses by their managers (Wiles 2012, p. 5). Strategies for overcoming possible problems Verifying participants’ informed consent, through written forms, is one of the ways to ensuring autonomy through elimination of mistake. Sensitivity to participants’ psychological states is another strategy to ensuring autonomy as it ensures care and limits the researcher to what a participant is willing to offer. Using codes to identify participants is another strategy to ensuring ethics in the study as it facilitates anonymity and therefore prevents possible harm, to research participants, through victimization. Work schedule The following is the planned work schedule for the study. Section to be completed Duration Developing background information 1 week Developing research objective and tentative research question 1 day Completing literature review 2 weeks Developing research methodology 1 ½ weeks Sampling 1 day Data collection 1 day Data analysis 1 week Publication 1 week Presentation 1 day Reference list Aflab, H 2013, A study to explore the extent to which counter productive work behavior is a shaped by job stress: Facts from the financial sector of Pakistan, Diplomica Verlag, Hamburg. Altuntas, S 2014, “Factors affecting the job satisfaction levels and quit intentions of academic nurses,” Nurse Education Today, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 513-519. Applebaum, D 2008, The relationship between physical work environmental factors, perceived stress, job satisfaction and turnover intention among inpatient acute care nurses, ProQuest, Ann Arbor. Borhani, F et al. 2014, “Nurses’ perception of ethical climate and organizational commitment,” Nursing Ethics, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 278-288. Chan, Z et al. 2013, “On nurses moving from public to private hospitals in Hong Kong,” Journal of Clinical Nursing, Vol. 23, No. 9/10, pp. 1382-1390. Cheng, C 2009, The relationship among employees’ work place values, job stress, and job satisfaction before and during the privatization of three commercial banks in Taipei, Taiwan, ProQuest, Ann Arbor. Ellison, S Farrant, T and Barwick, V 2009, Practical statistics for the analytical scientist: A bench guide, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge. Hwang, J et al. 2009, “Professionalism: The major factor influencing job satisfaction among Korean and Chinese nurses,” International Nursing Review, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 313-318. Kramer, M 2010, Organizational socialization: Joining and leaving organizations, Polity, Cambridge. Nabirye, R 2011, “Occupational stress, job satisfaction and job performance among hospital nurses in Kampala, Uganda,” Journal of Nursing Management, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 760-768. Omar, K et al. 2013, “Job satisfaction and turnover intention among nurses: The mediating role of moral obligation,” Journal of Global Management, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 44-55. Tsai, Y and Wu, S 2010, “The relationship between organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction and turnover intention Y Tsai and S-W Wu organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction and turnover intention,” Journal of Clinical Nursing, Vol. 19, No. 23/24, pp. 3564-3574. Vijay, M and Vazirani, N 2012, “A comparative study on stress among nurses in private and public hospitals in Mumbai,” BVIMR Management Edge,Vol. 5, No. 1, pp.46-52. Weiner, I Schmitt, N and Highhouse, S 2012, Handbook of psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Wiles, R 2012, What are qualitative research ethics? A&C Black, New York. Yoon, S and Kim, J 2013, “Job-related stress, emotional labor, and depressive symptoms among Korean nurses,” Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 169-176. Read More