Relationships Between Nurse Managers’ Work Activities, Nurses’ Job Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, And Medication Errors At The Hospital Unit Level In Taif

Abstract

Background: Nurse Managers (MNs) play a serious role in enhancing nursing and patient outcomes. The work of NMs, who can be described as middle-managers at healthcare organizations, is complex and changes on a daily basis. Only a few studies have clarified how NMs divide their time across various work activities. This study aimed to describe the relationships between NMs’ work activities, nurses’ job satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and medication errors at the hospital unit level. Methods: A cross-sectional and correlational study design was used. The data were collected from NMs (n = 29), nursing staff (n = 306), and patients (n = 651) from 28 units across three hospitals in Taif at KSA from January to April 2023. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to estimate relationships between data from subareas of NMs’ Work Content Questionnaire, Kuopio University Hospital Job Satisfaction Scale, and Revised Humane Caring Scale, along with medication error reports. A significance level of 95% was applied when estimating the covariance between variables. Unstandardized regression coefficients (B) were used to explain the relationships between variables. Results: Multiple relationships between NMs’ work activities, nurses’ job satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and medication errors were identified. NMs’ work activities had both positive and negative relationships on the other studied variables. The requiring factors of work (p< .001) subarea of nurses’ job satisfaction, total patient satisfaction (p< .001), and medication errors (p< .001) were identified as the variables most significantly [1]affected by other factors. Conclusions: The findings suggest that NMs should focus on improving nursing practices by managing and organizing nurses’ work in a way that makes their employees feel supported, motivated and secure. Furthermore, NMs should adopt a leadership style that emphasizes safe and patient-centered care. The results also suggest that the administration of today’s health care organizations should actively evaluate NMs’ share of work activities to ensure that their daily work is in line with the organizational goals.