The Effect of Nurses' Psychological Climate Perceptions on Their Professionality in The Context of Work Engagement

Background: The psychological climate of the organization, the individual's perspective on work and whether they are engaged are meaningful in terms of the professionalism level of nurses. Because work engagement, as a concept completely opposite to burnout, refers to the emotional and motivational state of the employee towards his work. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of nurses’ positive psychological climate perception on their professionalism and to investigate the mediation role of work engagement in this relationship. Method: Related data were gathered from 190 nurses who are working in a public hospital belonging to Health Ministry Erzurum Public Hospitals Union. In the research, the questionnaire form was used as data collection method. The questionnaire consists of statements determining the participants' perceptions of psychological climate, work engagement and professionalism. Validity and reliability of the scales were measured by item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency coefficient method. The model, which was developed to analyze the relations between the variables, was tested by structural equation modeling. Findings: In the research model and correlations between the variables were determined, and it was concluded that the relationships between all three variables were significant at the level of p <0.001. In the second stage of the analysis, a structural equation test was applied to the research model and the relationships between the variables were determined. Then, Baron and Kenny approach and bootstrap analysis were used to determine the mediating effect related to the structural model. By testing the structural model, it was determined that the results of the goodness of fit index values were within the specified reference ranges. Result: According to the analyze results, it is seen that work engagement has a partial role on the effect of positive psychological climate perception on professionalism.