Measuring nurses' satisfaction with the quality of their work and work environment.

This article discusses the Work Quality Index, a 38-item scale developed to measure the satisfaction of nurses with their work and work culture. The instrument, which is an outgrowth of a study of 245 nurses at a large northwestern acute care medical center, was developed using factor analysis and maximum likelihood extraction techniques. The index contains six subscales: professional work environment, autonomy, work worth, professional relationships, role enactment, and benefits. It is responsive to the 1993 proposed Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations standards for improvement of organizational performance.