The effect of working in an infection isolation room on hospital nurses' job satisfaction.

AIMS: To examine how the nature of working in a carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae infection isolation room affects nurses' job performance and job satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Job satisfaction is under intensive research as a factor in the retention of nursing staff.

METHODS: In a cross-sectional design study, a convenience sample of 87 registered nurses who had worked in carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolation rooms in a tertiary medical centre in Israel answered a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, t tests, one-way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis.

RESULTS: Job satisfaction was significantly correlated with perceived knowledge of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, with personal experience of working in an isolation room and the perceived level of professional functioning. Multiple regression analysis found that the quality of the nurses' personal experience of isolation room work and their perceived level of professional functioning there explained 33% of the variance in job satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Managers need to take into account that prolonged work in isolation can negatively impinge upon both performance and job satisfaction. Managers can consider refraining from lengthy nurse assignment to the isolation room. This would also apply to other areas of nursing practice where work is performed in isolation.