Psychological Empowerment and Organizational Commitment as Perceived by ICU Nurses in Governmental Saudi Hospitals

Nurses' commitment is influenced greatly by their perceived empowerment in form of professional socialization, which culminates greatly in the integration of their internal motives "psychological empowerment". Thus this study aimed to address the relationship between psychological empowerment and organizational commitment as perceived by ICU nurses working in Saudi governmental hospitals. A convenient sample of 340 nurses working in Intensive Care Units in three Governmental Hospitals in Riyadh city was surveyed. A questionnaire was developed from two validated scales, and used in collecting data pertaining to the study. Namely the scales are: "Psychological Empowerment Instrument" and "Three Components Model Employee Commitment Survey". The main findings of the study were that nurses' perception for psychological empowerment was highly recorded at whole subjects, while their perception for commitment was minimal, with no significant difference among the three hospitals. A negative association was detected between nurses' perception for commitment and their professional status (clinical ladder and education). Moreover, empowerment and commitment were negatively associated among nurses with (30>40) years old, as well as nurses who have experience in the current unit ranged between (5>10) years. In contrast, psychological empowerment and commitment were positively associated among female nurses, specialized areas, and nurses whose career experience exceeds fifteen years.Medical Information and Publishing Center (MIPC