Professional Values, Work Environment and Job Satisfaction Among Critical Care Nurses in Palestine: A Descriptive Cross‐Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Critical care nurses work in demanding clinical environments where professional values, staffing conditions, ethical climate, workload and burnout may influence job satisfaction. Understanding these relationships is important for supporting nurse retention and stable, safe intensive care practice. AIM: To assess professional nursing values, perceived work environment, and job satisfaction among critical care nurses in Palestine. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 263 nurses working in critical care units across 15 hospitals in the West Bank, using a convenience sampling approach, with a response rate of 87.7%. Job satisfaction was treated as the primary dependent variable. Descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, and mediation analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0. RESULTS: Nurses reported strong professional values (116.25 ± 9.55), moderate perceptions of the work environment (2.42 ± 0.30) and moderate job satisfaction (89.17 ± 10.57). Work environment was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction (β = 0.576, p < 0.001), while workload (β = -0.166, p = 0.021) and intention to leave (β = -0.163, p < 0.001) were negative predictors; the model explained 47.4% of variance. Mediation analyses indicated significant indirect association between professional values and job satisfaction through work environment (B = 0.152), between the work environment and intention to leave through job satisfaction (B = -0.533), and between workload and intention to leave through job satisfaction (B = 0.082; All p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Professional values were indirectly associated with job satisfaction through the perceived work environment. However, workload and intention to leave were associated with lower satisfaction. These findings highlight the need for adequately staffed, collaborative, well-resourced critical care environments, including workload monitoring, shared decision-making, supportive leadership and nurse recognition systems. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurse Managers should monitor workload, ensure adequate nurse-patient ratios, involve nurses in unit-level decisions, provide recognition and strengthen interprofessional collaboration in critical care units. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.