Relationships among self‐esteem, job adjustment and service attitude amongst male nurses: a structural equation model

Aim. The purpose of this study was to test a relationship model of self‐esteem and job adjustment affecting the service attitude of male nurses in Taiwan. Background. Service attitude of nurses may affect their intention to leave and the quality of health care for their patients. Self‐esteem is an important predictor of service attitude. Very few researchers have assessed job adjustment and service attitude in male nurses. Reducing job stress and burnout would help to increase job satisfaction. Design. A cross‐sectional research design was used in this study. Method. In 2009, 338 male nurses were invited to participate in this study. Finally, 284 participants completed the questionnaire, and the response rate was 84·0%. Results. The results revealed that the postulated model fits the data from this study well. Self‐esteem did not significantly correlate to service attitude. Job adjustment was a significantly influencing factor on service attitude. Conclusions. We conclude that job adjustment was indeed important in explaining the service attitude of male nurses. Nurse managers must help male nurses adjust their job as soon as possible to improve their service attitude. Relevance to clinical practice. In clinical practice and management, our findings provide concrete directions for nursing management and professionals in helping male nurses adjust to their job to improve male nurses’ service attitude. More clinical situation must be provided and practiced before male nursing students graduate from school. We suggest future study is needed to generalise this model to different populations.