A comparison of military and civilian staff nurse perceptions of the communication processes within their respective organizations

This exploratory study described and compared two groups of hospital staff nurses, military and civilian, in terms of their perceptions of the communication processes within the nursing hierarchy of their respective organizations. The two groups were further compared in terms of reported job satisfaction. Lastly, the relationship between communication variables and job satisfaction was examined. Data were collected from two hospitals, one Army and one civilian. Both hospitals were large tertiary care facilities. A convenience sample of 89 staff nurses participated from the Army hospital and 92 staff nurses from the civilian hospital. The survey instrument consisted of the sources of information section and the job satisfaction scale from the International Communication Association (ICA) Audit Survey. The researcher developed two demographic data sheets. Results from t-test analysis offered no evidence that the groups differed in their perceptions of the total amount of information received from the various sources in the nursing hierarchies of their respective organizations. This pattern held true for additional t-test analysis on discrepancy scores between the amount of information perceived as needed from a particular source of information and the amount of information presently received from that source. Further t-test analysis indicated no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of reported job satisfaction. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation analysis indicated a modest, positive, significant correlation between total amount of information received from various sources and reported job satisfaction for both groups. Examination of univariate means indicated that for both nurse groups, the source of information demonstrating the greatest discrepancy score was top management. A backward elimination procedure and linear model regression analysis indicated that the information source most salient to job satisfaction differed for the two groups: for the military group, immediate supervisor; for the civilian group, middle management. The level of significance for the study was p ≤ .05. For these two nurse groups, response analysis indicated greater similarities than differences. Plausible rationale for the findings are discussed. Implications for nursing researchers, managers, and educators are given.