TITLE:
Perception of Patients and Other Health Care Professionals about Nurses at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Modupe O. Oyetunde, Ononaiwu M. Kelechi, Mary O. Oyediran
KEYWORDS:
Perception, Nurses, Patients, Health Care Professionals, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.4 No.13,
December
5,
2014
ABSTRACT: Objective: To explore the perception of patients and other health care professionals about the attitude and behavior of nurses working at the University College Hospital Ibadan Oyo State. Background: Observation has shown that despite the efforts nurses put into carrying out their duties, the acknowledgement of a job well done from co-professionals and patients still leaves much to be desired. Could this be due to impressions formed about nurses? Hence, this study attempts to explore the perception of patients and other health care professionals about nurses. Methods: Two hundred (200) consented respondents were randomly selected for this study. This consists of 165 patients and 35 doctors representing other health care professionals. Data were collected through a pretested questionnaire. Analysis was done by using SPSS version 16.0. Result: Results showed that 68% of patients and 58% of doctors perceived that nurses were competent. About 75% of patients and 54% of doctors agreed that the nurses had adequate skills. Patients (70%) and doctors (49%) agreed that the nurses had a positive attitude towards work. About 74% of patients and 59% of doctors agreed to the fact that the nurses maintained a professional demeanor. Findings also showed that patients rated the nurses higher than the doctors did. A significant difference was found between the perception of patients and doctors about the communication skills of nurses (t = 2.423; df = 198; p = 0.016). Conclusion: The study shows relative satisfaction with the quality of nurse’s work, perceptions of people about their attitudes and behaviors. Nurses could improve on how they relate with other health care providers to achieve positive patient care outcomes.