Work Motivation, Satisfaction, and Performance Among Nurses in Expanded Roles in a Magnet-Recognized Hospital in the Middle East

Abstract

Research studies about Nurses and their work motivation, satisfaction and performance were limited to those working at bedside or those in conventional nursing leadership. This situation left Nurses on expanded roles unheard and underrepresented. Moreover, these correlational studies were usually completed in the West which created an imbalance and possible misrepresentation of Nurses in other geographic location such as the Middle East. This rapid expansion of nursing roles is part of a new era which is supposed to give nursing profession a more unique identity. However, due to lack of attention and study, this may instead lead to some role confusion or conflict or worse to work demotivation, dissatisfaction and poor performance. The study used a non-experimental, quantitative descriptive correlational research design. Three validated questionnaires such as Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS), Index of Work Satisfaction (IWS) and the Six Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (6-D Scale) were distributed to nurses to determine their level of work motivation, satisfaction and performance. An analytical software tool SPSS was used to calculate Pearson r on a one-tailed test. Furthermore, mean scores and standard deviation per domain were also computed and interpreted. Nurses in this study revealed a self-determined profile with a high W-SDI of 7.91 and IWS score of 193.7. Their satisfaction index of 13.53 is also higher than the median index of all collated studies which utilized the same questionnaire in the past. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation turned out to be their topmost source of work motivation hence staff engagement and retention programs can be based from this and other dimensions measured in this study. There is also a significant evidence to demonstrate a positive linear correlation between work satisfaction and teaching & collaboration (.267) and professional development (.267) which are subscales of work performance. There is also enough evidence to prove that work motivation and leadership (.205), critical care (.252) and planning & evaluation (.219) which are subscales of work performance have a positive linear relationship. Lastly, there is a significant evidence to conclude that work satisfaction and work motivation have a significant relationship (.372). Maintaining staff turnover rate low can be critical to success of any healthcare organization. This study can help provide a better understanding on how Nurses on expanded roles can stay motivated and satisfied to relentlessly give their top performance in their respective subgroup and work environment. The results are also culturally and geographically sensitive and specific to the Middle East. Several studies supported the impression that highly motivated and satisfied Nurses contributed to improved patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. Hence, creating the right platform to leverage their skills and get them satisfied could be advantageous to patients and the organization. In addition, this study may perhaps bring an increase in public awareness about the robust expansion of nursing profession through vast diversification of roles which could further shape the profession’s unique identity and help establish a more independent practice in the future.