The association between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction of nurses working in a training and research hospital

Introduction and Purpose: Supporting nurses in work environments and job satisfaction are important for qualified nursing service. This study was conducted to find out the perceived organizational support and job satisfaction of nurses working in a training and research hospital. Method: The population of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consists of all nurses working in a research and training hospital (n=619). No sample selection method was used in the study and all nurses who had been working in the institution for at least six months, who had not been on their leave during the dates the study was conducted and who agreed to participate in the study voluntarily were included in the study (n=512). The data of the study were collected by the researcher between November 2018 and January 2019 with Personal Information Form, Perceived Organizational Support Scale and Nurse Job Satisfaction Scale. Number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, t test, one-way ANOVA, Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskall Wallis H test and Correlation analysis were used in the analysis of data. Results: It was found that most of the nurses included in the study were between 24-30 years of age (59.0%), undergraduates (76.4%), women (58.0%), married (52.9%), with less than 5 years of professional experience (71.5%) and working under contract (55.7%). It was found that nurses' average Perceived Organizational Support Scale score was 2.95 ± 0.68 and their average Nurse Job Satisfaction Scale score was 90.50 ± 16.92; perceived organizational support level differed in terms of the units nurses worked in (p<.0.05) and working time in the same hospital (p<0.01); job satisfaction level was found to differ in terms of educational status (p<0.01), position (p<0.01), the units nurses worked in (p<.0.05), time of extra shift in a month (p<0.05); and there was a positive statistically significant association between nurses' perceived organizational support and job satisfaction (p<.0.01). Conclusion: It was found that perceived organizational support and job satisfaction levels of the nurses were moderate-high and job satisfaction increased as perceived organizational support level increased. It can be suggested to test these results obtained from the study with different sample groups. Key Words: Perceived Organizational Support, Nursing, Job Satisfaction.