Relationship of RN role responsibilities to job satisfaction.

This study tested a delivery of care model that maximizes the role of the registered nurse in rehabilitation by providing care based on the scope of practice exclusive to the registered nurse and supplementing that practice with licensed and non-licensed support personnel. The model of care was developed as a response to the nursing shortage. The model attempts to best utilize the limited resource of registered nurse staffing. The nursing shortage is a national and global public health problem that is expected to intensify as the nursing population ages. The hypothesis was that when the rehabilitation registered nurse is allowed to function in areas for which they are exclusively trained, job satisfaction will significantly improve as long as there is sufficient support staff to provide for non-essential functions. The conceptual model for the study is based on Donabedian's model which demonstrates the relationship between satisfaction and patient outcomes. Results indicated that after an initial stage of discomfort resulting from a change in role expectations nurse satisfaction improved when registered nurses functioned within their exclusive scope of practice.