Abstract

Nurses working in hospitals face many intrinsic stressors, including widespread job dissatisfaction, burnout, and frustration. These challenges, in turn, may affect patient care. Nursing often attracts individuals who wish to serve others, and some may find the expression of spirituality on the job helpful in finding meaning, satisfaction, and value in their work (Kociszewski, 2004). Sanctification of work (SoW) is a promising facet of spirituality defined by researchers as an individual’s experience of their work as a manifestation of God or sacred qualities that affects their effectiveness and engagement on the job (Walker, Jones, Wuensch, Aziz, and Cope, 2008). In the field of nursing, with its emphasis on positive outcomes and patient satisfaction, a study of sanctification of work could prove useful in improving the nursing environment, and thus, work-related outcomes. Thus far, little attention has been paid to how spirituality may influence nursing work-related outcomes and patient satisfaction. There is a need for further knowledge about sanctification as a facet of spirituality and its association with these important factors. This study sought to determine if sanctification of work was associated with job burnout, and other work outcomes such as employee engagement, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and job satisfaction. In addition, the study also explored whether nurses’ sanctification of work was associated with patient satisfaction, since there were no empirical studies on that area. A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational research design was used to describe and measure the association between sanctification of work and work-related outcomes, patient satisfaction, and demographic factors. A group of 463 licensed and unlicensed nursing personnel participated in the study, conducted in a not-for-profit, faith-based teaching hospital in the Los Angeles area. A sample size of 435 achieved 80% power to detect an R² of 0.02 attributed to 1 independent variable(s) using an F-Test with a significance level (alpha) of 0.05. The variables tested are adjusted for an additional 15 independent variable(s) with an R² of 0.10 and 20% non-response rate. Participants answered an 82-item questionnaire comprised of several previously established scales and demographic items, including The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL), the Sanctification of Work Scale, The Maslach Burnout Index, the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale, and the Employee Engagement Scale, among others. Patient satisfaction was measured using data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. Of the 463 participants of this study, 60% were Catholics, 81% were female, and nearly 45% had worked at least 5 years in the organization. The mean age of the participants is 42. Participants on average rated sanctification of work as a 5.7 on a 7- point scale. The linear regression results indicated that sanctification of work is a significant predictor of employee engagement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. In addition, females are more likely to perceive work as sanctified than male respondents. The study may influence nursing practice and nursing education. Study findings could help healthcare organizations promote positive patient experiences and inform nursing leadership decision making in recruitment and retention. Educators might also learn how to teach nursing students and nurses about the importance of sanctification of work, and consider adding the concept of sanctification to nursing curriculum and program frameworks.

LLU Discipline

Nursing

Department

Nursing

School

School of Nursing

First Advisor

Elizabeth Johnston Taylor

Second Advisor

Ellen D'Errico

Third Advisor

Kendal C. Boyd

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2019

Date (Title Page)

9-2019

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Work Engagement; Job Satisfaction; Spirituality; Nursing

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

xix, 147 p.

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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Nursing Commons

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