Browsing by Author "Fitchat, Sonet"
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- ItemPersonality traits and job satisfaction among nurses working in emergency and psychiatric departments(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Fitchat, Sonet; Young, Cornelle; Mayers, Pat; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Nursing & Midwifery.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Personality traits influence individuals to choose certain careers. Although much research has been done on the personality traits of nurses in general, very little research has been done on the personality traits of nurses within specific nursing fields, and none has been done in South Africa. Research demonstrates some evidence of personality trait differences between nurses employed in different fields, and that it may affect their levels of job satisfaction. A quantitative correlational study was conducted to determine the correlation between the personality traits and levels of job satisfaction of nurses working in emergency and psychiatric departments in public and private hospitals in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The study included six emergency departments and three psychiatric departments in seven hospitals. All categories of nurses working in emergency departments (nE = 221) and psychiatric departments (nP = 120) were included in the sample. Forty nurses working in emergency departments (18.1%) and 41 nurses working in psychiatric departments (34.2%) responded to the study. Two established questionnaires, the Swedish universities Scales of Personality and the Measure of Job Satisfaction were provided to respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted on the results. Data had a nonparametric distribution, thus Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (ρ) was used to calculate correlations. The guideline for determining significance was 5% (p < 0.05). The results of this study indicated that the majority of respondents working in emergency departments had low psychic trait anxiety, low stress susceptibility, low lack of assertiveness, low impulsiveness, high adventure-seeking and low detachment. Most of them reported being either neutral or satisfied with their jobs. Moderate to strong correlations were found between their psychic trait anxiety, stress susceptibility and their job satisfaction. The majority of respondents working in psychiatric departments who participated in this study had low stress susceptibility, low lack of assertiveness, low impulsiveness, and high adventure-seeking. Most of them reported being either neutral or satisfied with their jobs. No correlations were found between their personality traits and job satisfaction. The results may indicate that nurses with specific personality traits are more suited to specific nursing fields. Nurses could be assessed for these traits during the job interview process, and guided to the nursing fields most suited to their personalities.