The influence of stress and national council licensure examination results on job satisfaction of nursing school administrators in Texas

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2010-12

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Abstract

Studies of job satisfaction and stress among nursing faculty and administrators were found in the literature. There were no studies that addressed the relationship between job satisfaction based on the perceptions of stress of nursing educator administrators and pass rates on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). In addition, the literature is deficient on the job satisfaction and stress of nursing educator administrators in associate degree nursing programs at public community colleges.

This study examined the influence of stress of NCLEX-RN pass rates on job satisfaction of nursing educator administrators of associate degree nursing programs at Texas community colleges. A sample of 46 community college nursing educator administrators participated. Each participant completed a demographic questionnaire, the Job Descriptive Index/Job in General (JDI/JIG) instrument to assesd job satisfaction, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to assess current perceived stress levels.

The study design was causal-comparative (ex post facto) and utilized descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data collected to address the research questions. Statistical significance was evaluated at the p = .05 level.

The results of the study supported that nursing educator administrators are predominantly female in both practice and academia in the state of Texas. It did not reveal any statistically significant differences in stress levels and pass rates based on years in nursing education, educational level, and ethnicity. Statistical significance was found between job satisfaction and perceived stress, and that perceived stress predicted job satisfaction. Perceived stress was not correlated to pass rates on the NCLEX-RN, other than those programs with a NCLEX-RN pass rate between 90 - 100%.

There is a shortage of qualified nurse educators in the U.S. Higher education institutions must retain their nursing educator administrators and faculty in order to help prepare new nurses. Understanding the impact of perceived stress on job satisfaction of nursing educator administrators is important to college administrators and nursing education programs. The ability to understand the stress levels involved in programs that have mandated state licensing demands will help colleges implement processes and procedures to help relieve the stress of these external demands on their nursing faculty and administrators. This will lead to working environments that are less stressful and promote higher job satisfaction.

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Keywords

Job satisfaction, Perceived stress, National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN)

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