Introduction
The article “The relationship between nurses’ perceptions of empowerment and patient satisfaction” by Donahue et al. has a number of inconsistencies with respect to the issue of nurses’ empowerment and patient satisfaction. However, before even digging deeper into its contents, the title itself is not catchy. For one, it is extremely long to entice a probable reader and yet it does not look interesting at a glance. Again, going by the title, the article seems to be bent on nurses’ empowerment than it is on patients’ satisfaction. This aspect alone reduces the probability of the article being read by people who are not health practitioners. The title’s ability to appeal to a broader scope is very narrow due to the choice of words and its length. That’s the title; we have not looked at the abstract yet. One can not fail to note even by the look of it that it lacks the flow in ideas.
The abstract
An abstract as always should be a summary of the whole article and by this it means that just reading the abstract, one should be able to find the main ideas expressed in the article. The abstract provided in this article however can not do that. After reading the article, the ideas therein are not fully and effectively represented in the abstract as it should be. I find the abstract too shallow and general for one to understand the entire article by reading it. It does not represent the solution and problems of the research, it only mentions of them. In fact, the beginning of the abstract is just a repetition of the title. This abstract is not a summary of the content but an overview like an outline.
Problem statement
In the introduction, the authors begin by describing the role of nurses in promoting professional practice. Quite a good start to build on the body of the article but as I mentioned earlier this makes the article look like a nurses’ inclined research. In the first paragraph, the article is about the role of nurses and the best practice to attract them, “A culture that supports autonomy, control over the practice environment, and collaborative physician relationships is characteristic of hospitals that have been successful in attracting and retaining nurses.” (Donahue, Piazza, Griffin, Dykes, & Fitzpatrick, 2008).It goes on to discuss strategies that are essential to improve and increase patients volumes. This deviates a bit from the topic subject. The authors almost lost track of the subject and seem to follow a commercial argument rather than an ethics approach. This is clear in the clause “business plans that also include expanding market share and increasing patient volume” (Donahue, Piazza, Griffin, Dykes, & Fitzpatrick, 2008).
Problem ambiguity
The problem statement is quite ambiguously stated as some parts of the text are looking at the health care market parameters while in other parts it’s about nurses’ perceptions on their satisfaction and the satisfaction of the patients (Donahue et al., 2008). The research should be more inclined in solving or exposing the problem that the healthcare players are facing in trying to strike a balance between the two, the nurses and patients. Empowering nurses gives them a sense of security and belonging hence positive health care results are more likely to be achieved. This argument holds true but it is not the ultimate response to nurses’ empowerment. This is just an assumption whose likelihood is greater than the opposite. However, it should be noted that this may not be always true. Empowering the nurses can also give them a sense of pride hence compromising the quality of services offered (Laschinger, Finegan, Shamian, & Wilk, 2001). Empowering nurses should not be motivated by the need to retain them rather for competitiveness and efficiency. The problem of empowerment is a matter of concern to nurses and it affects their ability to perform. This again has an unsatisfactory effect on the patients hence loss of confidence in the health facility.
Data analysis
The data collection method used is up to standard for a qualitative research and the authors have done an excellent job on this. In this research it is clearly depicted how and to what extent nurses’ empowerment is of essence. This is beneficial not only to the nurses but also to the patients and the healthcare facility as well (Laschinger et al., 2001). With contended nurses, the expectations for better service delivery are high. Hence the patients are assured of efficient services. Nonetheless, the report is not quite clear on the data analysis. The data given does not address each question neither does it test each hypothesis beyond reasonable doubts. The intention-to-treat approach has not been used in this research.
Findings and accuracy
While findings are well presented through charts and drawings, the summary to explain these findings is not quite clear. It is not easy to understand. The summaries are filled with a lot of statistical data which makes it quite complex just as the diagrams are. Understanding the summary is a challenge due to the numerous and unnecessary abbreviations and use of numeric’s that are also used in the graphical representation. The research does not address the issue of generalization of ideas even in explaining the graphical representation. The information given is too general for example “Because staff nurses comprised 72.2% of the nursing sample, Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficients were computed to explore the relationship between staff nurses’ perceptions of empowerment and patient satisfaction.” (Donahue et al., 2008).
Credibility
With all the inconsistencies as I mentioned earlier not withstanding, I must admit the research work on this article was carefully undertaken and the credibility of the piece is adorable. The results in these findings are credible, meaningful and effective. Strategies to enhance nurse empowerment as provided in the research can be of help if implemented. Communication for instance in the organization can go along way in solving some of the nursing difficulties experienced during practice. Good communication channels offer solutions to rising conflicts and addressing discrepancies. To improve and ensure that new nurses are acquainted to the visions and missions of the organization during their orientation takes an effective direct communication channel between the two. Effective communication channels passes information on staff support and opportunities available for them to improve their efficiency.
Solution
By creating opportunities, the organization builds relations with the nurses and hence achieving job satisfaction. The benefits for job satisfaction are countless including effective services, self drive to work, willingness to serve and many other positive motivation factors. This research has achieved to bring these benefits to the attention of the nursing profession and this will be used to create a promising future for the profession and improve the way nurses respond to their work. The result of the study that there is a relationship between the empowerment of nurses and patient satisfaction is valid.
References
Donahue, M., Piazza, I., Griffin, M., Dykes, P., & Fitzpatrick, J. (2008). The Relationship between Nurses’ Perceptions of Empowerment and Patient Satisfaction. Applied Nursing Research. 21 (1), 2-7.
Kanter, R. M. (1993). Men and women of the corporation. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Laschinger, H., Finegan, J., Shamian, J., & Wilk, P. (2001). Impact of Structural and psychological empowerment on job strain in nursing work Settings: Expanding Kanter’s model. Journal of Nursing Administration 31(5), 260−272.