Objective: The intent of the data collection process is to describe the changes in organizational culture that occur over time and to measure the impact of the transformation process on nurse, patient and organizational outcome. An interesting dimension of this comprehensive program evaluation is the use of two widely recommended nurse perception surveys, the Index of Work Satisfaction (IWS), which is currently used by NDNQI to measure job satisfaction at all magnet designated institutions, and the Practice Environment Scale (PES) of the Revised Nursing Work Index, which has been recommended by the National Quality Forum as a standard for determination of desirable versus undesirable work environments. The components of the PES were developed as an outgrowth of the original magnet hospitals’ study and the scale has been tested recently with an increasing number of today’s magnet designated hospitals. Method: This presentation will focus on the survey of 181 staff nurses employed in adult critical care units who were surveyed concerning their perceptions of the work environment prior to and following the implementation of an organizational transformation process.
Results: Findings demonstrate improvements in several areas following the transformation process, with extent of transformation activities contributing to the magnitude of impact seen. Clear differences are evident between perceptions captured by the IWS and the PES.
Conclusions: Two staff satisfaction measures commonly used to assess magnet hospital work environments demonstrate acceptable reliability and validity in critical care areas and detect subtle differences in workplace characteristics.
Implications: Organizations interested in understanding the full impact of organizational transformation processes my wish to consider using both instruments in assessment processes.