Nurses’ generalized self-efficacy in relation to their workplace

Introduction: Self-efficacy in nurses appears to be of great importance, and is one of the indicators of behaviour Purpose: Nurses’ self-assessment of their generalized self-efficacy in relation to their workplace. Material and methods: The study involved random sample of 570 nurses. A diagnostic survey was carried out using the standardized Generalized SelfEfficacy Scale (GSES). Results: The average value of self-efficacy amounted to 29.3±30. Among the respondents, 56.8% represented category of “high efficacy”, whereas others were of “average efficacy” (32.3%) and “low efficacy” (10.9%). The overall assessment of the nursing profession was higher in participants who presented higher values on GSES scale (R=0.12). The average general level of satisfaction in terms of 20 aspects of professional work was connected with self-efficacy which proved statistically significant. Analysis of self-efficacy score did not indicate statistically significant differences among workplaces. Conclusion: Over half of the participants represented the category of “high efficacy”. The group of nurses employed in district hospitals presented the least instances of low self-efficacy assessment. Individuals who were satisfied with their nursing professional development opportunities had a higher self-efficacy. The higher the perception of self-efficacy, the higher the workplace satisfaction. The average level of satisfaction resulting from various aspects of nursing profession depended on the perception of selfefficacy in the following areas of assessment: professional development opportunity, decisionmaking autonomy, sense of purpose at work, and, to a lesser extent, occupational safety, maintaining work-life balance, and the possibility of communicating with people.