title: [A Survey of the Perception of Nurses Toward the Practice Environment at a Regional Teaching Hospital in Central Taiwan].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The nursing practice environment has been shown to wield significant influence on nursing retention and nursing quality of care. Because a large percentage of Taiwan nurses currently work at regional teaching hospitals, exploring the perception toward the practice environment of nurses working at this type of hospital is important.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study explored the perception of nurses working at a regional teaching hospital in central Taiwan toward their practice environment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional research design with a sample of 474 nurses from a regional hospital in central Taiwan was conducted. Instruments including the demographic data and the Chinese-version Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index (CPES-NWI) were anonymously self-administered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, participants were moderately satisfied with their practice environment, with the greatest dissatisfaction focused on staffing and resource adequacy. Work unit and nursing level, respectively, had significant impacts on perceptions regarding the practice environment. Furthermore, discriminant analysis identified two new compound variables: 1) adequate staffing resources and partnership in the workplace and 2) supportive administrative management environment. Participants who worked in medical and surgical units were significantly more dissatisfied with the adequacy of staffing resources and partnership in the workplace than participants who worked in acute/intensive and special units. Participants at the N2 level were significantly more dissatisfied with the supportive nature of the administrative management environment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support that the nursing practice environment of regional hospitals may be improved using several measures, including: modifying the staffing and resource adequacy of nurses, fostering collaborative nurse-physician relationships, and further involving nurses in administrative management and decision-making.
authors.affiliation: College of General Education, Hung Kuang University, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Jui-Tai
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Guidance and Counseling, National Chunghua University of Education, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Ching-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kuang-Tien General Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Wei-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC. chinglan@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Esther Ching-Lan
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010465:Perception; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: nurses; nursing practice environment; retention