| The nursing profession places high value on caring and it is the cornerstone of practice. Nurses are facing challenges requiring them to balance activities of caring with the tasks dictated by the organization all of which affect job satisfaction. Nurses must be able to develop caring relations with patients in order to express their professional identity, find meaning and value in their work, and achieve satisfaction with their jobs. This was a descriptive correlation study using a random sample of Medical Surgical nurses practicing in acute care hospitals in North and South Carolina. The study investigated the relationship between the staff nurses' perceived ability to express caring behaviors toward adult patients as measured by the Coates' Caring Efficacy Scale, their job satisfaction, as measured by the Stamps' Index of Work Satisfaction, Part B including six components of satisfaction (professional status, interaction, autonomy, organizational policies, pay, and task requirement). This study explored whether spending time with patients can positively predict nurses' perceived ability to express caring behaviors. Finally, the study examined if certain population characteristics influence the nurse's perceived ability to express caring behaviors and their level of job satisfaction.;The study surveyed 5,000 randomly selected nurses with a return of 1091 useable surveys. In the results of this study, the participants demonstrated self-efficacy and believe that they have the ability to establish caring relations with patients. In this study, 50% of the participants reported that they were satisfied with their current position. In addition, the participants stated they were most satisfied with professional status followed in order by interaction, autonomy, organizational policies, pay, and task requirements.;The study found a correlation between CES, IWS, and the six components of the IWS. Spending time with patients was found to be a predictor of the nurses' ability to express caring behaviors. Older more experienced nurses scored higher on the CES. The study found the level of job satisfaction increase as the nurse increased in age and tenure with their current institution. The relationship between the six components and population was mixed. |
