J Nurs Acad Soc.  1981 Jun;11(1):29-44.

A Study on Nurses Role Conflict in a Hospital University

• Lee YS

Abstract

Nursing role tends to be more complex then before because of the increased number of health professionals and of the health needs of patient. Accordingly, nursing role expectations are various and sometimes conflict by its role set. There are various literatures on role conflict of nurses and discussed how to eliminate the conflict in order to improve nursing service particularly in the hospital organization. This study was designed to determine if role conflict exist among nurses who work in a hospital and if so what resolution were most frequently selected by the nurses to the role conflict. The study population was fifty six registered nurses of K university hospital. The fifty six was defined and selected by nonproportional stratified sampling method to obtain subjects who are from uniform role set. A questionnaire, a list of role conflict, stimulated by the literature review, knowledge based on several years' experience in nursing was formulated by the author and administered to the study population. The questionnaire included twenty nine closed question items of role conflict and classified according to the intra sender conflict, intersender conflict, person conclift and interperson conflict. The response choices to the questions range on a scale continuum with degrees of conflict from one to five: never - 0, seldom - 1, occasionally - 2, frequently - 3, and mostly - 4. Per cent, means, standard deviation, and x2-test were used to analyze data. The findings of the study could be summarized as follows. 1. General characterstics of the study population: Most of the population were between the age of 22-27 and are not married 2. Analysis of Role conflict Existence of Role conflict of nurses was found by the total mean conflict score, 2.06. Inter Sender Role conflict revealed the most high mean conflict score and the lowest one was inter person role conflict. Among the five role senders Of nurses: Physician, patient and his family, peer and superior, nursing students and hospital administrator, nurses showed the highest conflict mean score for physicians and the lowest score for Nursing student. 3. Analysis of role conflict resolution. Compromise through discussion with the role sender was the most frequently selected method by the respondents. The result also showed that the respondents tend to resolve the conflicting situation created by patient or his family by persuation. On the other hand, Avoidance and ignorance was frequently chosen for the conflicting role expectations from the hospital administrator.

MeSH Terms

Hand
Health Occupations
Hospital Administrators
Humans
Negotiating
Nurse's Role*
Nursing
Nursing Services
Surveys and Questionnaires
Students, Nursing
Surveys and Questionnaires