Meeting Abstract

JL511. Hematology/Oncology Nurse Practitioners: A Study of Job Satisfaction, Stress, and Intention to Leave the Specialty

Laura Bourdeanu, PhD, Excelsior College, Albany, New York, Shiyun Mai, MS, George Washington University, Washington, DC, Yuan Shen, MS, George Washington University, Washington, DC, Haoqi Sun, MS, George Washington University, Washington, DC, Suya Wang, MS, George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Karen Morrissey, MSN, CVS

ABSTRACT

Abstracts From  JADPRO Live at APSHO 2017
Marriott Marquis, Houston, Texas • November 2–5, 2017

The posters for the abstracts below can be found at:
eventscribe.com/2017/posters/JADPROLIVE/home.asp

Background: The predicted oncology/hematology workforce shortages are likely to place greater demands upon nurse practitioners (NP), as the proposed solution to this shortage is expanding the role of the nurse practitioner. This may lead to an increase in work-related stress and decrease in job satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to determine the hematology/oncology NP’s job satisfaction/stress, and their intent to leave their job or profession in order to better decide the further development and expansion of the NP role.

Methods. Design: Quantitative descriptive cross sectional. Sample: Hematology/oncology NPs currently employed in the clinical setting. Instruments: Demographic characteristics, the Intent to Leave Scale, and the Hospital Consultants’ Job Stress & Satisfaction Questionnaire.

Procedure: Emails including the request for participation letter, link to the survey, and a statement asking the nurse practitioners to forward the letter to their colleagues were sent to eligible participants obtained from Oncology Nursing Society. Results: A total of 193 eligible hematology/oncology NPs participated in the study. The age of the participants ranged from 28 to 70 years (median 50 years). The sample was predominantly female (98%), married (72.5%), and had an MSN as a terminal degree (85%). Overall, 79.3% of the NPs reported being quite a bit or a lot satisfied with their job; predominantly due to having a high level of responsibility (81.4%) and a good relationship with the patients (93.3%). Of the 13.5% NPs who reported quite a bit or a lot of stress, 45.6% claimed high sources of stress were related to being involved with the emotional distress of patients and 40.4% related to disruption of home life through spending long hours at work. Of the all participants, 14% were actively searching for an alternative to the profession, 10.4% will look for a new job outside the profession in the near future and 11.4% will leave the profession when they can. High stress, low job satisfaction, and inability to schedule days off were predictors of the NPs’ intent to leave the profession.

Conclusions: The results of this study found that nearly 15% of the hematology/oncology NPs intend to leave the profession. Job satisfaction/stress and inability to schedule days off are significant predictors for intent to leave in this profession.

Recommendations: These findings can be utilized by organizations to enhance job satisfaction, reduce stress, help to secure days off as needed, and use these as predictors for intent to leave.

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