Factors Affecting the Implementation of the Nursing Process of Registered Nurses in Inpatient Wards at University Hospitals

Abstract

          The objectives of this predictive research were (1) to determine the level of implementation of the nursing process, (2) to identify the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motives, and (3) to identify factors affecting the level of implementation of the nursing process, all of professional or registered nurses (RNs) in inpatient wards at university hospitals. The study involved 234 RNs selected, using the stratified random sampling, from 411 RNs working in inpatient wards at two hospitals under a university. Data were collected using a questionnaire consist of personal data, attitudes toward the nursing process implementation, professional commitment, basic working skills, social support, supervision on the nursing process, barriers to the nursing process implementation, and the Implementation of the nursing process that content validity were .67-1.00 and reliability were .79, .76, .91, .86, .72, .90, and .98 respectively. Data analyses were undertaken using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression.

          The results showed that, among the participating RNs, (1) the implementation levels of the nursing process were at the high level; (2) the intrinsic motives, including attitudes toward the nursing process implementation, professional commitment, and basic working skills, were all at the high level, while the extrinsic motives, including social support and supervision on the nursing process, were at the high level; and the barriers to the nursing process implementation were at the moderate level; and (3) the factors significantly affecting RNs’ nursing process implementation in inpatient wards were, in descending order, basic skills, attitudes, and supervision related to nursing process implementation; and all combined could 39.9% predict RNs’ nursing process implementation capacity.