Essay on Nursing Job Satisfaction in Saudi Arabia: Examining Workloads, Perceptions, and Support

Introduction

Job satisfaction of nursing professionals is a crucial factor affecting patient care, safety, and health outcomes. In the Saudi Arabian context, nurses' job satisfaction has been associated with workloads, perceptions of favoritism, support, and educational opportunities (Al-Dossary et al. 2012; Alotaibi et al., 2016). Conversely, a lack of personal growth and professional support from employers, has been reported to lead to decreased job satisfaction (Parveen et al. (2017). Although past studies have investigated Saudi Arabian nurses' job satisfaction level, there exists a literature gap regarding job satisfaction levels of primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia.

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The purpose of this study is to explore job satisfaction among primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study is to examine the job satisfaction level of primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia. The proposed research is significant because nurses' job satisfaction affects patient safety, morale, quality of care, and turnover. Specifically, nurses with high job satisfaction are more likely to keep the patients safe, have higher morale, provide a better quality of care, and less likely to quit their current job.

The proposed study will be guided by Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, developed by Frederick Herzberg in 1959. The research will utilize the phenomenological research method. The research population is comprised of primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia. Only nurses who are currently practicing will be eligible for the study. The study will utilize a convenience sampling approach to select participants who will provide data capable of addressing the research problem. Specifically, in the proposed research, the participants will be chosen from public hospitals closer to the researcher. Data collection will be conducted using in-depth interviews guided by a semi-structured interview consisting of open-ended questions seeking to understand nurses' job satisfaction levels. The interview transcripts will be analyzed using a thematic analysis approach leading to the generation of themes. The findings of this study will be disseminated through oral presentations to peers and stakeholders and also published in peer-reviewed nursing journals.

Significance of The Proposed Project

The proposed study is significant because of various reasons. First, it is essential to understand nurses' job satisfaction levels because of the impact it has on patient safety (Park & Lee, 2017). Specifically, nurses who are highly satisfied with their jobs are more likely to keep the patients safe, while those who are dissatisfied with their jobs are less likely. Second, job satisfaction influences morale. A nurse who is not satisfied with his or her current job is highly likely to have low morale. Therefore, understanding job satisfaction levels are useful in knowing primary health care staff morale.

Moreover, understanding nurses' job satisfaction is critical in predicting patients' quality of care. Lastly, it is crucial to understand nurses' job satisfaction because of its effect on turnover. There is an increased likelihood that a nurse who is not satisfied with his or her current job is more likely to seek employment elsewhere compared to one who is highly satisfied.

Background and Rationale

Job satisfaction refers to the overall feelings an employee has and the evaluation s/he makes about his or her job (Ones et al., 2017). Employees with high levels of job satisfaction have positive emotional states when they think about their jobs, while those with low job satisfaction do not feel good about their jobs. Nursing is an important health professional because of ist critical role in patient care, safety, and health outcomes. Therefore, understanding nurses' job satisfaction has been at the forefront of healthcare researchers. Saudi Arabian nurses' job satisfaction has been workloads, perceptions of favoritism, support, and educational opportunities (Alotaibi et al., 2016). The nurses reported that their job satisfaction would be enhanced by increased access to educational opportunities, decreased workload, and reduced favoritism (Alotaibi et al., 2016). Similarly, Al-Dossary et al. (2012) established that nurses' job satisfaction is positively linked to the availability of training programs and further education.

In a recent study, Aljohani (2019) reported a low-to-moderate level of job satisfaction among Saudi Arabian nurses. Low levels of job satisfaction were attributed to poor living conditions. On the other hand, Parveen et al. (2017) noted that Saudi Arabian nurses' job dissatisfaction is attributable to a lack of personal growth and professional support from employers. Even though the reviewed studies have examined Saudi Arabian nurses' job satisfaction level and factors associated with it, there exist a research gap regarding job satisfaction among primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the proposed study seeks to address this research gap. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore job satisfaction among primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia.

Research Questions

What is the job satisfaction level of primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia?

Suppositions

The availability of educational opportunities, low workload, and lack of favoritism in the workplace leads to high job satisfaction among primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives

To examine the job satisfaction level of primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

The proposed study will be guided by Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, developed by Frederick Herzberg in 1959. According to the proponent of this theory, some job factors lead to satisfaction and some that prevent dissatisfaction. Herzberg categorized these job factors as hygiene factors and motivational factors (McGlynn et al., 2012). Hygiene factors refer to those job factors that are crucial for the presence of workplace motivation. However, they do not result in long-term positive satisfaction. However, in absence, there is dissatisfaction. These factors are extrinsic to work and include job security, interpersonal relations, physical working conditions, fringe benefits, and pay.

On the other hand, hygiene factors are motivational factors that yield job satisfaction. They are also known as satisfiers and motivate the workers to give their best in their jobs. Employees find satisfiers intrinsically rewarding. Examples of these factors include the meaningfulness of the work, responsibility, growth and promotional opportunities, sense of achievement, and recognition (Holmberg et al., 2018). Therefore, it is expected that the presence of these factors in the workplace would result in high job satisfaction.

Research Methodology

Research Population and Social Demography

The research population is comprised of primary health care nurses in Saudi Arabia. In the proposed study, primary health care nurses are nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and enrolled nurses who have been registered by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties. Only nurses who are currently practicing will be eligible for the study. Additionally, nurses of all educational levels- from diploma level to graduate level- will be enrolled for the study. Practicing nurses of all ages, gender, marital status, and ethnicities will be considered for the study.

Sampling and Sample Size

The proposed study will utilize a qualitative research sampling technique. Specifically, the study will use a convenience sampling approach to chose participants capable of providing data needed to address the research problem. In this sampling method, the researcher recruits participants who are easily accessible to him or her. In this sampling approach, the researchers select the research subjects based on their availability and accessibility (Elfil & Negida, 2017). Various advantages make convenience sampling an excellent choice for the proposed study. Most importantly, a study utilizing this sampling method can be done quickly and cheaply because only participants who are near the researcher are considered for the study.

Convenience sampling is sometimes known as "accidental sampling" because the participants are chosen simply because they just happen to meet specific criteria such as willingness to participate in the study, availability at the study period, geographical proximity, and accessibility (Etikan, 2016). It is referred to as convenience sampling because the investigator chooses the sample according to their proximity to him or her. Therefore, in the proposed study, the research subjects will be picked from public hospitals closer to the researcher. The inclusion criteria include registered primary health care nurses who are currently practicing and more than three years of work experience. Therefore, non-primary health care nurses will not be included in the study. Additionally, primary health care nurses with less than three years of work experience will not be chosen for the study.

Research Methods

The proposed study will utilize the phenomenological research method. Phenomenology refers to a research methodology aimed at describing the essence of a particular phenomenon by exploring it from the viewpoint of those who have experienced it (Jaison, 2018). That is, phenomenological research is concerned with a look at participants' experiences from their own perspectives rather than from others' perspectives. The primary aim of phenomenological studies is to illuminate the specific and identify the phenomenon of interest to the study through how the issue is seen by the actors in a situation. In studies involving human research subjects, this implies that the information is gathered from the participants through qualitative data collection approaches such as discussions and participant observation and in-depth interviews.

From an epistemological perspective, phenomenology is anchored on a paradigm of personal knowledge and subjectivity (Jaison, 2018). This because it is focused on understanding a piacular issue of interest to the researcher based on individual perspective and interpretation. Consequently, this methodological technique is useful in understanding gaining an in-depth understanding of people's motivations and actions and their subjective experience. There are three types of phenomenological research designs. They include interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), post-intentional phenomenology, and lifeworld research (Neubauer et al., 2019). The proposed study will utilize the IPA- a phenomenological approach aimed at providing a detailed look at the lived experience of a phenomenon researchers' personal experiences and their perception of objects and events (Neubauer et al., 2019).

The phenomenological research approach was chosen because of the inherent benefits attributed to its use. One of the reasons why this method is suitable for the proposed study is that it enables the investigator to have an in-depth understanding of how unique human experiences can be described and interpreted (Loue & Sajatovic, 2012). It also brings to focus concepts of human experiences that have not been well-understood (Loue & Sajatovic, 2012). Moreover, it is beneficial because it helps to gather data that is seen as natural rather than artificial (Armstrong, 2010). Data collection will be accomplished through in-depth interviews. The face-to-face interview with the participants will be guided by a semi-structured interview comprised of open-ended questions seeking to understand participants' job satisfaction.

Data Analysis

The proposed phenomenological study will utilize thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is comprised of six phases (Managem...