Yuki Mizuno

A Study on Communication Activity and Social Skills of Nursing Organization

In this study, a quantitative rating of the communication using the device (behavior sensor) which enabled the measurement of communication and social skills in the hospital, was implemented. The subjects of this study were two hospitals. The measurement of communication used the behavior sensor which electronic badges were capable of measuring social signals, it was measured for two weeks. The result of the communication activity between staffs was 58.0 min per day. In comparison with the communication time, male nurses were more than one and a half times larger than females (p < 0.001). Particularly, male nurses tended to regard cooperation as more nurses regardless of job status or sex. According to the result of social skills, more experienced nurses had high skill. In the GP analysis of the communication time, the skill of emotion processing of an upper rank group was higher than a lower rank group (p < 0.1). These observations led to the speculation that a male nurse made more communication in the workplace, and cooperated with more nurses. In addition, the nurse who had high communication skills tended to have high expression skill of one’s feelings.

Retention Management of Nurses: A Case of University Hospital in Japan

Retention management is a human resource strategy designed to improve job satisfaction and to reduce voluntary employee turnover by PDCA cycle of benefit programs and work-life balance. This study aimed to ascertain job satisfaction and intention to continue working among nurses, and to determine how their job satisfaction relate to the intention to continue working as nurses. As research methods, a paper-based survey was conducted at a university hospital located in the metropolitan area. The survey consisted of a face sheet and questions to assess the degree of respondents’ job satisfaction and intention to continue working as nurse. It was distributed to 692 registered nurses employed on a permanent basis at a university hospital. As results, valid responses were obtained from 661 nurses (620 females and 41 males) with a mean age of 29.9 years (SD = 8.0) (valid response rate: 95.5%). A high rate of job satisfaction was identified with items such as communication with colleagues, a sense of pride in being a nurse, enjoyment from contact with patients, instructions from superiors, the frequency of nightshifts, working with superiors and colleagues who can be respected, one’s salary and the workplace climate. However, a low rate of job satisfaction was identified with factors such as trust from doctors, their own vital role, appropriate number of nursing staff, the clinical ladder, work outside of nursing duties, break rooms and hospital facilities, break times, and the amount of overtime. Looking at the degree of the intention to continue working, the highest rate was seen in those with more than 5 years’ experience, and the lowest rate was those with 1 year or more to less than 3 years’ experience. As a consideration, the result of the analyses indicated that such satisfactory factors as a sense of pride in being a nurse and recognition as a nurse contributed to increase the pleasure of nursing practice and the intention of working. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully consider “recognition” as a key factor that influence retention management of nurses.

Current Status of Exercise Habits and Job Satisfaction of Nurses in Japan

Nurses’ duties have become more diversified and increasingly complex with Japan’s ultra-aging population and advancements in medical technology. Additionally, the long working hours, the enormous workload, the chronic shortage of human resources, and night shifts place a huge physical burden on nursing staff. These factors have contributed to a job turnover rate of around 11% for nurses in Japan. The rate has been around the same for the last decade. In a bid to retain highly skilled and talented employees for the long-term and to enable them to demonstrate and build on their skills, there is a need to improve job satisfaction. This study aimed to ascertain the exercise habits of nursing staff and determine how their exercise habits relate to their overall job satisfaction.