Correlation between Professional Autonomy and Years of Experience in University Hospital Nurses

Abstract

This study clarified the correlation between professional autonomy and years of experience among university hospital nurses. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire including the autonomy measurement scale for nurses was given to 589 university hospital nurses. The nurses were classified into five groups based on their years of experience (<1 year, ≥1–<3 years, ≥3–<10 years, ≥10–<20 years, and ≥20 years). In total, 435 nurses responded (response rate: 73.9%), and 371 questionnaires without missing answers were included in this study. The mean measurement of professional autonomy scores in the (<1 year, ≥1–<3 years, ≥3–<10 years, ≥10–<20 years, and ≥20 years groups were 2.66 (SD: 0.58), 3.10 (SD: 0.46), 3.41 (SD: 0.41), 3.54 (SD: 0.52), and 4.02 (SD: 0.46), respectively. Significant differences were observed between the nurses in the <1 year and ≥1–<3 years groups, the ≥1–<3 years and ≥3–<10 years groups, and the ≥10–<20 years and ≥20 years groups (p < 0.01 to p < 0.001). Moreover, a significant difference was observed between the ≥20 years group and all other groups (p <0 .01 to p < 0.001). Among university hospital nurses of this target institution, a steady increase was observed in nurses with 1–10 years' experience, no change was observed in the 11–20 years group, and a steady increase was observed in the ≥20 years' group. Finally, the findings suggested the educational methods for the professional autonomy of the nursing profession should be established based on the years of experience.