Socialization and interpersonal environment in nurses' affective reactions to work

The dominant explanation of nurses' affective experience in work is the conflict between the beliefs and expectations developed during the formal training process (education) and the role definitions in the hospital work setting. Specifically, it is generally proposed that baccalaureate trained nurses experience this person-role conflict more than associate or diploma trained nurse because baccalaureate training instills more beliefs/expectations that conflict with the hospital nursing role. However, research has not sufficiently compared the effect of 'socialization' variables like education with other variables found to affect the work experience. This study uses path analysis to explore the relative effects of education, length of experience and the measured interpersonal work environment across types of person-role conflicts, on overall job satisfaction and on propensity to leave. The results show that the interpersonal factors are the paramount determinants of the measured person-role conflicts and, as well, have a greater effect than education and experience on job satisfaction. Also, education and length of experience have greater direct than indirect effects on propensity to leave, indicating that their effects are not via causality of job-related stress. Implications for programs designed to improve the nurse's work experience and effects are discussed.