Abstract
Purpose: Sense of coherence (SOC) is used as an indicator of stress manageability. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and correlated factors of sense of coherence of nurses working at emergency and critical care centers. The outcome of this study would be used as fundamental data for developing strategies to encourage retention of nurses engaged in emergency care. Method: Anonymous self-filled questionnaire forms were posted to 190 nurses working at four emergency and critical care centers in Japan. Questions consisted of basic attributes, interest in working in emergency nursing, job satisfaction, and SOC questions. Results: No correlation was recognized between the total SOC score/scores of three components and the age, nursing experience, gender, job title, department or interest in working in emergency nursing. Nurses who found job satisfaction in emergency nursing had a higher meaningfulness score. Conclusion: The study showed that there was a correlation between the SOC score of emergency nurses and their job satisfaction level. The present findings suggested the need of developing a framework that would help nurses gain and increase job satisfaction in emergency nursing and build and enhance their stress management ability.
