Job Satisfaction of Nursing Assistants

Objective: This secondary data analysis explored factors influencing job satisfaction in a sample of nursing assistants employed in Maryland skilled nursing facilities. Background: Multiple factors have been shown to affect job satisfaction and turnover in nursing assistants (NAs), but the problem of turnover persists in skilled nursing facility environments affecting quality of care. Methods: An existing data set of 556 nursing assistants from 12 Maryland skilled nursing facilities was used. To explore factors found to influence job satisfaction from other studies, a multiple regression analysis was performed. Results: Nine dependent variables previously shown to affect job satisfaction were used. Of these variables, only years of experience (beta=.230) and performance of restorative care (beta=.095) were found to be positively associated with job satisfaction. Self-esteem (beta=-.094) was found to be negatively associated with job satisfaction. Conclusion: Only length of experience and exemplary care as evidenced by the performance of restorative care were associated with job satisfaction. These results mirror results found in other studies. Self-esteem was negatively associated with job satisfaction in this population, a finding needing further study.