A Comparative Study on Role Conflict and Job Satisfaction between Nurses in ICU and Nurses in General Ward

중환자실 간호사와 일반병동 간호사의 역할갈등과 직무만족도 비교연구

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and compare role conflict and job satisfaction between nurses in ICU and nurses in general ward. Method: The subjects of this study consisted of 141 nurses employed at ICU and 201 nurses employed at general ward, who were recruited from 5 university hospitals with 500 beds located in Seoul and Gyeonggido. The instruments included role conflict scale developed by Kim and Park(1995) and job satisfaction scale translated and modified by Lee(1996). The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 10.0 program for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Result: In the two groups, there was a inverse correlation between role conflict and job satisfaction. In ICU, nurses' role conflict levels differed significantly depending on religion(p<.05), total experience(p<.05), scheduled to work as a nurse(p<.05). And nurses' job satisfaction levels differed significantly depending on total experience(p<.05), working period in current post(p<.001), scheduled to work as a nurse(p<.001), motive of choosing the nursing science(p<.01), and job satisfaction(p<.001). In general ward, nurses' job satisfaction levels differed significantly depending on marital status(p<.05), educational level(p<.01), total experience(p<.001), motive of choosing the nursing science(p<.01), and job satisfaction(p<.001). Conclusion: Summing up, the nurses at ICU showed higher level of role conflict than the nurses ay general ward. Therefore, it is needed to decrease the level of nurse's role conflict and improve their job satisfaction in ICU.