The Correlations between Work Stress, Job Satisfaction and Quality of Life among Nurse Anesthetists Working in Medical Centers in Southern Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between job stress, job satisfaction, and quality of life for nurse anesthetists at medical centers in Southern Taiwan. The study adopted a cross-sectional study design. The interviewees were nurse anesthetists at three medical centers in Southern Taiwan who had been employed in their respective units for over 6 months. The recruitment period was from January 2012 to March 2012. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire composed of the following sections: basic personal characteristics, perceived source of job stress for medical work scale, job satisfaction for nurses scale, and SF-36 quality of life scale. A total 150 nurses participated in the study. The results showed a statistically significant difference in monthly overtime amounts in relation to overall job stress. Hospital, age, work place, overtime amount, intention to resign, and nurse anesthetist work terms also showed significant differences in relation to subjects' overall job satisfaction. After using stepwise multiple regression, the average quality of life score for subjects with intention to resign was 8.231 points lower than that of those without such intention; for each increase of 1 point in the "overall job satisfaction" section, the score for quality of life rose by 0.481 points; those with exercise habits scored 5.942 points higher than those without; those in a subspecialty showed an average score of 5.287 points higher than those without. In conclusion, intention to resign, overall job satisfaction, exercise habits, and having a subspecialty are the critical factors influencing quality of life among anesthesia nurses.