Does Chief Nurse’s Ward Management Behavior Influence Nurses’ Job Satisfaction in District Hospitals of Bhutan?

OBJECTIVES: Chief nurse’s ward management behavior is a key factor affecting job satisfaction of nurses working directly under them. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of chief nurse’s ward management behavior on job satisfaction of nurses working in major district hospitals in Bhutan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 246 nurses working across 18 district hospitals in Bhutan. Data on nurses’ job satisfaction and chief nurse’s ward management behavior were collected using Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)-short version and Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) respectively. A generalized linear model (GLM) with a binomial distribution was used to indicate the relationship between chief nurse’s ward management behavior and nurses’ job satisfaction. RESULTS: The result showed that 54.09% of nursing employees were satisfied with their job. In terms of chief nurse’s ward management behavior, chief nurses of Bhutan are inclined to display behavior which is more of an autocratic nature than democratic. There was a strong positive correlation between chief nurse’s ward management behavior and nurses’ job satisfaction. The GLM also indicated a strong positive relationship between the nurses’ job satisfaction with chief nurse’s ward management behavior. CONCLUSION: Nurses’ job satisfaction was significantly and positively associated with chief nurse’s ward management behavior. This finding call for an interventional program to promote chief nurse’s ward management behavior.