Nurse's psychological empowerment and perceived autonomy in university and teaching hospitals at Menofia Governorate/Egypt

Abstract

Background: It is believed that, the greater nurses uncertainty is likely to negative attitude toward their organization and the quality of patient care. Staff nurses can be empowered at all levels of the organization, if management allows them the support, encouragement and rewards them. Empowerment is the process by which a leader shares power with others or enable them to act. Autonomy plays an important part in nurses’ job satisfaction and retention. Autonomy is defined as authority and accountability for one's decision and activities. Aim: To study the relationship between psychological empowerment and perceived autonomy of nurses in University and Teaching Hospitals at Menofia Governorate. Design: a descriptive correlational design. Setting: This study was conducted in two selected hospitals namely Menofia University Hospital and Shebine EL-Kom Teaching Hospital. Sample: A convenint sample of 550 nurses was included in the study. Tool: Two tools wereused to collect the data: 1- Psychological Empowerment Instrument. 2- Nurses’ autonomy questionnaire. Results: There was a highly statistical significant correlation between total psychological empowerment and perceived autonomy of nurses. A significant relation was founded between the levels of autonomy and nurses’ work place. While, there was insignificant relation between both of nurses’ psychological empowerment and autonomy according to their age, level of education and years of experiences. Recommendations: Staff development program for nurse managers to integrate staff nurses in decision-making and to deal effectively with new ideas to promote organizational climate and empowerment of nurses.