Staff nurses' work satisfaction in psychogeriatric wards.

This paper begins by reviewing the small number of studies of staff nurses' work satisfaction. Subsequently, an examination is made of the differences in work satisfaction between staff nurses and other grades of nursing staff in psychogeriatric wards in National Health Service hospitals in Scotland. These data are part of a larger study into work satisfaction and the quality of care in these settings. Significant differences in satisfaction at work are identified between the staff nurse group and the other grades taken as a whole. Analysis of the components of job satisfaction suggests that these differences arise from: first, the experience of the work itself; second, the quality of the supervision which takes place; and third, the assessment of hospital policies, such as the transfer of staff to other wards.