Frequency and Severity of the Nurses' Role Conflict in the Hospital Nurses

병원간호사 역할갈등의 빈도와 심각성

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency and severity of role conflict experienced by nurses in the hospital. Methods: For this survey a self-report questionnaire on nurses' role conflict was used for data collection. Participants were 472 nurses in hospitals with over 500 beds. The questionnaire had 82 items classified into five categories (role activity, relationships between: nurse-nurse, nurse-patient/caregiver, nurse-doctor, and nurse-other department staff). The questionnaire was developed through focus group interviews with nurses according on their work experiences and literature reviews that were validated by the researchers. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for frequency and severity of nurses' role conflict. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ for the questionnaire was .95 (frequency), .97 (severity). Results: Mean score for nurses' role conflict was 1.64. The highest frequency for nurses' role conflict was in the category, relationship between nurse and patients or their families ($2.00{\pm}0.46$). The highest severity for nurses' role conflict was in the category; relationship between nurses and doctors ($1.96{\pm}0.56$). Conflict about nurses' role activity showed both high frequency ($1.99{\pm}0.39$) and severity ($1.95{\pm}0.43$). Conclusion: Results indicate a need to develop programs to improve interpersonal relationship so as to reduce role conflict and encourage nurses' professional satisfaction and achievement.