Creating a healthy workplace for new-generation nurses.
OBJECTIVE
To examine dimensions of the psychosocial work environment that influence the psychological health of new-generation nurses.


BACKGROUND
While much work has been done concerning the health of nurses in general, research on the relationship between the nursing work environment and the psychological well-being of new-generation nurses at the start of their careers is limited.


METHODS
A correlational descriptive design was used for this quantitative study. Survey data were collected from new nurses (N=309) whose names were obtained from a provincial licensing registry in Quebec, Canada.


RESULTS
Among new nurses, 43.4% stated that they have a high level of psychological distress. These nurses were significantly more likely to perceive an imbalance between effort expended on the job and rewards received, low decisional latitude, high psychological demands, high job strain, as well as low social support from colleagues and superiors (p < or = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Understanding the relationship between the work environment and health as experienced by new-generation nurses is imperative for creating interventions to successfully recruit and retain these young nurses.


CONCLUSIONS
Generation Y nurses in Quebec, faced with high levels of psychological distress because of their exposure to difficult nursing work environments, might leave the profession thereby exacerbating an already salient nursing shortage.
School of Nursing, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada. melanie.lavoie-tremblay@mcgill.ca
Mélanie
M
Lavoie-Tremblay
David
D
Wright
Nicole
N
Desforges
Céline
C
Gélinas
Caroline
C
Marchionni
Ulrika
U
Drevniok
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008603:Mental Health; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010560:Personnel Selection; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011158:Population Growth; D011792:Quebec; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult