Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction by Clinical Career Stage among Nurses in Integrated Nursing and Caregiving Service Wards : A Comparison of Advanced Beginner and Competent–Proficient Nurses

Abstract

This study compared professional identity, emotional labor, resilience, and job satisfaction between advanced beginner and competent–proficient nurses working in integrated nursing and caregiving service wards and identified factors associated with job satisfaction by clinical career stage. It also sought to provide evidence for developing career stage-specific strategies to improve nurses’ job satisfaction. A cross-sectional descriptive comparative-correlational design was used. Nurses with two to three years of clinical experience were classified as advanced beginners, whereas those with four or more years were classified as competent–proficient nurses. Data were collected through an online survey from February to March 2025. The final sample comprised 332 nurses: 148 advanced beginners and 184 competent–proficient nurses. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression analyses with SPSS/WIN version 29.0. In both groups, professional identity and resilience were significantly and positively correlated with job satisfaction, whereas emotional labor was significantly and negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Among advanced beginner nurses, resilience(β=.65, p<.001) and emotional labor (β=-.22, p=.003) were significantly associated with job satisfaction, whereas professional identity was not(β=.11, p=.106). Among competent–proficient nurses, resilience(β=.44, p<.001), professional identity(β=.29, p<.001), emotional labor(β=-.22, p<.001), and being satisfied with their institution(β=.16, p=.031) were significantly associated with job satisfaction. Resilience showed the largest absolute standardized regression coefficient in both groups and thus the strongest association with job satisfaction. Professional identity was significant only in the competent–proficient group model. Nurse managers should develop and implement differentiated strategies that reflect nurses’ clinical career stages, enhance resilience, and reduce emotional labor.