JOB SATISFAcTIOn OF cERTIFIED nURSE MIDWIVES: An ExAMInATIOn

Health care providers face pressure to reduce costs and enhance patient satisfaction. One approach is to employ primary care providers such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives. Since there is a positive relationship between job satisfaction and patient satisfaction, positive job satisfaction on the part of providers, such as midwives, can translate into patient satisfaction. This research explores the degree of job satisfaction exhibited by certified nurse midwives. The data derives from a survey of 2000 CNM members of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. The survey captures job satisfaction factors, including interactions with physicians and nurses, job tasks, organization policies, pay, job autonomy, professional status, and job requirements and demographics. The findings reveal that the factors associated with overall job satisfaction are conditioned by midwives’ places of work. While levels of job satisfaction are high, those factors associated with it vary by workplace. Therefore, strategies designed to enhance job satisfaction for certified nurse midwives should relate to the locus of work and its environment.