Determination of the Working Conditions of Emergency Nurses

Abstract

Working conditions are important in achieving patient and employee safety, quality care and favorable patient outcomes. The study was carried out in a descriptive design to determine the working conditions of emergency nurses in the context of personal rights. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 133 nurses working in nine private and one university hospital on the European side of Istanbul. The data were collected from January 2008 through October 2008. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage distribution, mean and standard deviation. The majority of the emergency nurses were young, inexperienced and high school and associate degree graduates (72.2%), they were oriented to the institution and the department, they thought that they could not be promoted because they were poorly educated (59.4%), their performance was regularly evaluated (58.6%), they were worried that their salary was not sufficient (80.4%), they did not receive additional compensation because they were working in the emergency department (75.2%), they did not get enough leave because of long weekly hours and long daily hours; also they benefited from services of the department of occupational health and safety (96.3%), experienced health problems after starting to work in the emergency department (75.2%), were frequently exposed to verbal violence (79.7%), and experienced the thought of dismissal (75.2%). As a result, it can be claimed that emergency nurses are faced with negative situations in terms of working hours and breaks, working style, leaves, awareness about the leave rules and procedures, remuneration, career development, employee health and job security.

Keywords

• Emergency unit
• emergency nurse
• working conditions
• personal rights
• Labor legistation.

Acil Hemşirelerinin Çalışma Koşullarının Belirlenmesi

Abstract

Çalışma koşulları, hasta ve çalışan güvenliği, kaliteli bakım ve olumlu hasta sonuçlarına ulaşmada önemlidir. Araştırma, acil hemşirelerinin özlük hakları bağlamında çalışma koşullarının belirlenmesi amacıyla tanımlayıcı tasarımda gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini, İstanbul ili Avrupa yakasında hizmet veren 9 özel ve bir üniversite hastanesinde çalışan toplam 133 hemşire oluşturmuştur. Araştırmanın verileri, Ekim-Ocak 2008 tarih aralığında toplanmıştır. Veriler, frekans, yüzdelik dağılım, ortalama ve standart sapma kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Acil hemşirelerinin çoğunluğunun genç ve deneyimsiz ve lise ve önlisans mezunu oldukları (%72,2), kuruma ve birime oryantasyonlarının yapıldığı, düşük eğitimli olmaları nedeniyle terfi edemeyeceklerini düşündükleri (%59,4), performanslarının düzenli değerlendirildiği (%58,6), aldıkları ücretleri yeterli bulmadıkları (%80,4), acilde görevli olmaları nedeniyle ek tazminat almadıkları (%75,2), günlük ve haftalık çalışma saatlerinin fazla olduğu ayrıca fazla mesai yaptıkları ve yeterince izin alamadıkları; iş sağlığı birimi hizmetlerinden yararlandıkları (%96,3), acilde çalışmaya başladıktan sonra sağlık sorunları yaşadıkları (%75,2), sıklıkla sözel şiddete maruz kaldıkları (%79,7) belirlenirken; işten çıkarılma düşüncesi yaşadıkları (%75,2) saptanmıştır. Sonuç olarak acil hemşirelerinin özlük hakları ile ilgili olarak, çalışma saatleri, çalışma şekli, izinler, izinler konusunda bilgi sahibi olma, ücretleme, kariyer gelişimi, çalışan sağlığı ve iş güvencesi başlıklarında olumsuzluklar yaşadıkları söylenebilir.

Keywords

• Acil birim
• acil hemşiresi
• çalışma koşulları
• özlük hakları

References

1. 1. Nahcivan N. Sağlık Bakım Sistemi. T. Atabek Aşti A. Karadağ (Edt.). Nursing Fundamentals, Science and Art of Nursing-1. (p.37-57). Istanbul: Academy Publications. 2013. (In Turkish)
2. 2. Özbek Yazıcı S., Kalaycı I. Evaluation of nurse's working environment and conditions, Süleyman Demirel University Journal of Engineering Sciences and Design. 2015; 3(3):379-383. (In Turkish)
3. 3. Söyük S., Arslan Kurtuluş S. The evaluation of the problems’ emergency services from staff perspectives, Gümüşhane University Journal Of Health Sciences. 2017;6(4):44-56. (In Turkish)
4. 4. Dorgaham H, Salah M. Assessment of nurses working conditions at emergency departments at government hospitals in Gaza Strip. J Nurs Health Stud. 2020;5(1):1.
5. 5. Bai J. Does job satisfaction mediate the relationship between healthy work environment and care quality?. Nurs Crit Care. 2016;21(1):18-27.
6. 6. Stalpers D, De Brouwer B J, Kaljouw M J, Schuurmans M J. Associations between characteristics of the nurse work environment and five nurse-sensitive patient outcomes in hospitals: a systematic review of literature. Int J Nurs Stud. 2015;52(4):817-835.
7. 7. Aiken L H, Sloane D M, Bruyneel L, Van Den Heede K, Griffiths P, Busse R et al., Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: a retrospective observation study. Lancet. 2014;383(9931):1824-1830.
8. 8. Tei‐Tominaga M, Sato F. Effect of nurses' work environment on patient satisfaction: a cross‐sectional study of four hospitals in Japan. Japan J Nurs Sci. 2016;13(1):105-113.

9. 9. Yapıcı D, Arslan Yürümezoğlu H. Evaluation of working environment by clinical nurses according to healthy working environment standards. E-Journal of Dokuz Eylul University Nursing Faculty. 2021;14(3):240-252. (In Turkish)
10. 10. Iranmanesh S, Tirgari B, Bardsiri HS. Post-traumatic stress disorder among paramedic and hospital emergency personnel in south-east Iran. World J Emerg Med. (2013);4(1):26-31.
11. 11. Dahlen I, Westin L, Adolfsson A. Experience of being a low priority patient during waiting time at an emergency department. Psychology Research and Behavior Management. 2012;5:1-9.
12. 12. İnce S., Bingöl, S. Perceptions of emergency nurses towards nursing care. Journal of Hacettepe University of Nursing.2020;7(1):23-30.doı: 10.31125/hunhemsire.715049. (In Turkish)
13. 13. Kebapçı A., Akyolcu N. The effects of the work environment on nurse burnout in emergency department. Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2011;11(2):59-67.doi: 10.5505/1304.7361.2011.43827. (In Turkish)
14. 14. Asegid A., Belachew T., & Yimam E. Factors influencing job satisfaction and anticipated turnover among nurses in sidama zone public health facilities, South Ethiopia. Nursing Research and Practice. 2014.1-27.https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/909768.
15. 15. Kocaman G., Arslan Yürümezoğlu H., Uncu S., Türkmen E., Göktepe N., Seren İntepeler Ş. The development of healthy work environment standards for nurses in Turkey. Journal of Education and Research In Nursing. 2018;15(1):30-38. 10.5222/HEAD.2018.030. (In Turkish)
16. 16. Labor Law, Accessed from: http://www.calisma.gov.tr/mevzuat/4857-iş-kanunu.htm. Accessed date: 25.02.2020. (In Turkish)
17. 17. Civil Servants Law (1965). Accessed from: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=657&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5. Accessed date: 25.02.2020. (In Turkish)
18. 18. International Labour Organisation Recommendation No. 157 (1977) Erişim tarihi: 10.06.2018.ILOhttps://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=normlexpub:12100:0::no::p12100_ılo_code:r157.
19. 19. Elçioğlu A. Investigation of job satisfaction and burnout in emergency nurses, (Master dissertation). Hasan Kalyoncu University, Institute of Graduate Education, Gaziantep;2021. (In Turkish)
20. 20. Yetik Aras A. (2019). Determination of critical thinking tendencies of nurses working i̇n the emergency service, (Master dissertation). Ondokuz Mayıs University, Institute of Health Sciences, Samsun; 2019. (In Turkish).
21. 21. Duran A., Ocak T., Yorgun S.,Okumuş M., Kaya H., Çıkrıklar H.İ. Satisfaction levels of emergency department staff, Düzce Medical Journal. 2013;15(1):37-40. (In Turkish)
22. 22. Özata M., Bozoğlan H., Akkoca Y. (2017). Determination of emergency service employees' problems in the context of occupatıonal health and work safety: the example of konya. Süleyman Demirel University Visionary Journal.2017;8(19):1-13. Doi:10.21076/Vizyoner.335107. (In Turkish)
23. 23. Abou-ElWafa HS, El-Gilany AH, Abd-El-Raouf SA, Abd-Elmouty SM, El-Sayed R, El-Sayed H. Workplace violence against emergency versus non-emergency nurses in mansoura university hospitals, Egypt. J Interpers Violence, 2015;30:857-72.
24. 24. Aydemir I., Üçlü R., & Aydogan A. According to the emergency room staff the reasons for violence, Journal of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, 2020; 83(1),60-68. (In Turkish)
25. 25. Bahar A., Şahin S., Akkaya Z., Alkayiş M. Investigation of effects of exposure to violence and affecting factors on job satisfaction of emergency nurses, Journal of Pscyhiatric Nursing. 2015;6(2):57–64. Doi: 10.5505/phd.2015.18189. (In Turkish)
26. 26. Coşkun S., Karahan Ş. An analysisof emergency department workers’ exposure to violence. Acıbadem University Health Sciences Journal. 2019;10(3):493-499. (In Turkish)
27. 27. Kıymaz D. The relation between violence experienced by emergency clinic nurses in the work environment and occupational commitment and intention to leave. (Master dissertation). Ondokuz Mayıs University, Institute of Graduate Education, Samsun; 2021. (In Turkish)
28. 28. Parlar Kilic S., Ozoglu Aytac S., Korkmaz M. Ozer S. Occupational health problems of nurses working at emergency departments, International Journal of Caring Sciences, 2016; 9(3):1008-1019.
29. 29. Partridge B., & Affleck J. Verbal abuse and physical assault in the emergency department: Rates of violence, perceptions of safety, and attitudes towards security. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal. 2017; 20(3),139-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aenj.2017.05.001
30. 30. Ünsal Atan S, Baysan Arabaci L, Sirin A, Isler A, et al. Violence experienced by nurses at six university hospitals in Turkey. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 2013;20:882–889.
31. 31. Zafar W, Siddiqui E, Shehzad MU, Khan UR, Jamali S, Razzak J. Health care personnel and workplace violence in the emergency departments of a volatile metropolis: Results from Karachi, Pakistan. J Emerg Med.2013;45:761-72.