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Interaction of organizational commitment and job satisfaction of nurses and medical secretaries in Turkey

The main aims of this study is to explain the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment and to investigate the effects of gender, education level, age, monthly income, ownership type of the employed hospital, length of employment in the hospital, job and marital status on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The research was carried out in three hospitals in Turkey. The research population includes 872 people: 677 nurses and 195 medical secretaries. All the questions on the research instruments were answered by 55.4% of the population. A significant and positive relationship was found between job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Nurses' Views on Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in Turkey: An Analysis According to Use, Quality and User Satisfaction

Electronic medical records are generally used by nurses in hospitals. However, studies investigating views on and evaluations of electronic medical records by nurses are limited in Turkey and in other countries around the world. Thus, in this study, nurses’ views on electronic medical record systems will be investigated in terms of use, quality and user satisfaction. Our goal was to investigate the views on electronic medical records used by nurses working at hospital clinics (inpatient care units). Moreover, in this study, we will examine whether there are relationships among the use, quality and user satisfaction of electronic medical records. This study is composed of field research conducted using questionnaires. To prepare the data-measuring instrument, the literature on electronic medical records was reviewed. In addition, during the pilot run of the questionnaire, some revisions were made to the measuring instrument to account for the views of nurse managers in the field. The questionnaire consists of 35 items: 12 items for use, 12 items for quality and 11 items for user satisfaction. A Likert scale type was used in this questionnaire. Responses for usage and quality were assigned a value of 1–5 (‘never/almost never/not at all’ to ‘always/almost always’) for each item. Responses for user satisfaction were assigned a value of 1–5 (‘not at all’, to ‘very great’) for each item. The study was planned and conducted on nurses working at inpatient care units at one public university hospital, one Turkish Ministry of Health hospital and one private hospital in Kocaeli. A sampling technique was not used because we aimed to conduct the questionnaire among all nurses. At the end of this study, the questionnaire had been conducted on 200 nurses. We found that the average score for the nurses’ satisfaction with electronic medical records was 3.28, the average score for using electronic medical records was 1.96, and the average score for the quality of electronic medical records was 3.16. We also determined that there are significant relationships among the use, quality and user satisfaction of electronic medical records. This study revealed that there are significant differences among the mean quality scores for the EMR systems in the Ministry of health hospital, the university hospital and the private hospital. Interestingly, 59.0% of all participants in this study felt that EMR systems were not well integrated into their workflow. In addition, half of all respondents had not been trained in using EMR systems.

An Investigation of Hospital Disaster Preparedness in Turkey

The objective of this study was to examine the plans that public, university and private hospitals in Turkey have made in preparation for possible disasters, and to further investigate what types of measures have been taken as a way of focusing on plan characteristics and surge capacity.The study involved 430 hospitals throughout Turkey, each of which had 100 or more beds according to statistical data issued by The Ministry of Health of Turkey. Of these 430 hospitals, 358 were public, 40 were university-affiliated, and 32 were private. The questionnaires developed for the study were sent to the hospitals by mail. Only 251 hospitals returned responses. The questionnaire response rate was 58.4%. A total of 32 questions were asked in the survey. Frequency distributions of the data for statistical analysis were made, and tables were created according to the type and capacity of the hospitals.This study found that 233 hospitals (92.8%) have written disaster plans. When analyzed according to the type of hospital, 204 public hospitals (93.2%), 19 university hospitals (86.4%) and 10 private hospitals (100%) were found to have written disaster plans. According to the study, 63.5% of the public hospitals, 80% of the private hospitals and 31.8% of the university hospitals perform an exercise on an annual basis, as stated in the disaster plan.Disasters occur at unexpected times and have the potential to seriously affect the demand for health services. Local hospitals are one of the most significant facilities for providing health services during disasters. In this study, the level of disaster preparation of the hospitals in Turkey was examined.

Quality of life and attitudes to ageing in Turkish older adults at old people's homes

The purpose of this study was to investigate quality of life (QOL) and attitudes to ageing in Turkish older adults at two old peoples homes (nursing homes) and to explain relationship between QOL and attitudes to ageing.

Effect of organisational trust, job satisfaction, individual variables on the organisational commitment in healthcare services

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of the organisational trust dimensions, job satisfaction dimensions, and several personal characteristics (age, education status, gender, the department that is worked at, duration of work, income, and marital status) on the organisational commitment. In this study, all staff working at a public hospital in Bingöl, Turkey, have been taken into consideration. A total of 516 questionnaires were taken into consideration for data analysis in this study. In the study, organisational trust dimensions, job satisfaction dimensions, and personal variables were found to explain affective commitment variable in the proportion of 37.5%; continuance commitment variable in the proportion of 27.2%; and normative commitment variable in the proportion of 39.8%. This study revealed that cognitive trust, managers, communication, the structure of work, gender, and the department worked (laboratory or surgery room) were the significant predictors of affective commitment. Income, cognitive trust, education status, emotional trust, and the structure of work and additional opportunities have been found to have a meaningful effect on continuance commitment. Cognitive trust, promotion, managers, the structure of work, education status, emotional trust, and the structure of work, gender, and emotional trust had a meaningful effect on normative commitment. This study could have potential practical implications in healthcare management.

Physicians' Views and Assessments on Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) in Two Turkish Public Hospitals

A picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a medical imaging technology which provides economical storage of and convenient access to images from multiple modalities (source machine types). PACS have been widely introduced as a credible alternative to the traditional film-based radiological service. This study was planned and conducted to determine the physicians’ views and assessments on PACS in two public hospitals in Turkey. A questionnaire was prepared by viewing the literature related to PACS. The questionnaires were distributed several times to a total of 150 physicians two public hospitals in Ankara, Turkey. The overall response rate is 46%. Some questions required a graduated score in response and others an open ended response. The majority of physicians judged PACS to be a major advance for their hospitals with less frustration than using film high quality images and an improvement in their working lives and patient care. They reported that PACS gave them to radiology reports in short time. Also physicians believed that PACS has improved their consultations. Open ended questions were prepared with concerning the benefits and disadvantages of PACS. The assessments of the physicians demonstrated many more benefits than disadvantages of PACS in their hospitals. PACS has been accepted well by a wide percentage of hospital physicians. PACS evolves over time components are frequently replaced and so the users must expect continuous learning about new updates and improved functionality. The implementation of the PACS clearly contributes to an increase in the productivity of health professionals and physicians

An analysis of relationship between burnout and job satisfaction among emergency health professionals

Burnout among emergency medical practitioners and personnel negatively affects career satisfaction and job performance and leads to a high prevalence of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and suicide. This study investigates the relationship between the perceptions of burnout and job satisfaction for those working in emergency services in two public hospitals in Turkey. This study also examines the levels of burnout and job satisfaction in terms of gender, marital status, education and occupation. Participants in this study include 250 emergency service personnel. The Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale, which assesses emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment, and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, which assesses internal satisfaction, external satisfaction and overall satisfaction, were used for data collection. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant relationship between burnout and job satisfaction. This study also shows that education, marital status and occupation affect burnout and job satisfaction. However, gender was also determined to have a significant effect on job satisfaction. Moreover, this study reveals that emotional exhaustion is a significant predictor of overall satisfaction, that emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation are significant predictors of intrinsic job satisfaction and that emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment are significant predictors of extrinsic job satisfaction. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that emotional exhaustion is the significant regressor affecting job satisfaction.

Quality of Life (QOL) and Attitudes Toward Aging in Older Adults in Şanlıurfa, Turkey

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate quality of life (QOL) and attitudes toward aging in older adults in a province in Turkey. Methods: This is a quantitative and descriptive study of QOL and the attitudes toward aging in older adults. Instruments: The data measurement instruments used in this study are the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life Instrument–Older Adults Module (WHOQOL-OLD) and the WHO–Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ). Participants: The Turkish versions of the WHOQOL-OLD and AAQ were administered to 550 older adults living in şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Results: The results indicated a significant relationship between QOL and attitudes toward aging in older adults. Two dimensions of attitudes toward aging (physical change and psychological growth) were significant predictors of QOL in older adults. It was found that gender, literacy, social security, age, and marital status affect some dimensions of QOL and some subscales of attitudes toward aging.

Examining the role of employee focus in the Turkish healthcare industry

The role of quality management (QM) is becoming more evident in healthcare organisations where lack of focus on employees may have immediate impact on employee turnover and quality of care. As a field, QM has recently been established in the Turkish context; and its potential role and impact is yet to be explored in the healthcare organisations. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of employee focus of QM through the perceived relationship among organisational commitment, organisational trust, and job satisfaction of healthcare professionals in Turkey. Strong positive relationships were identified between organisational commitment, organisational trust, and job satisfaction. Furthermore, organisational trust and job satisfaction significantly affect organisational commitment. There are strong inferences among organisational commitment and job satisfaction. The findings of the study call for a more involved QM practices in Turkish healthcare organisations.

Evaluation of Electronic Prescription Implications in Turkey: An Investigation of the Perceptions of Physicians

BACKGROUND Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) is an evolving area of healthcare information technology that aims to support physician decision-making by capturing, reviewing, and issuing medical prescriptions with high potential for improving the quality and safety of the process. PURPOSE To describe physician perception of e-prescription use in healthcare organizations that work with social security and to evaluate their infrastructures for MEDULA (an information system for billing and other health informatics) in healthcare organizations in Turkey. METHODS A cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. A convenience sample of physicians in eight general hospitals and in two oral and dental health centers of the Ministry of Health in Turkey were surveyed. RESULTS Survey response rate was 47% (248/425). The majority of physicians (62%) support e-prescribing but have not used an electronic signature for prescriptions (78.2%). Almost half of them believe that e-prescriptions would positively contribute to patient safety (43%) LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION Our study provides a first look at the perceptions of physicians regarding the implications of e-prescriptions, which became mandatory on January 15, 2013, in Turkey. Advocates of e-prescribing have suggested that additional efforts are needed to strengthen clinical decision systems. Physicians and nurses are better able to adopt e-prescribing systems and to view them positively if they recognize the limitations of paper-based prescribing and understand the utility of electronic systems in addressing some of these limitations. This study represents a starting point for government and related organizations to improve their knowledge on how well the implied benefits of e-prescriptions are realized in their acquisition, appraisal, and use in health policy decision-making and health systems.