OBJECTIVE: To know if nurses working in Brazil are satisfied with the exercise of their practice and what factors are associated with it. METHODS: Exploratory cross-sectional study of 130 nursing professionals from the five Brazilian regions. We collected demographic data and administered the Job Satisfaction Scale of Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI), at three times during the period of August 2006 to March 2007. RESULTS: The five aspects of the OSI associated with job satisfaction were: relationship with others in the organization in which one works, the type (content) of the work performed, degree of motivation felt about one's work, degree of job security and current level of flexibility and freedom one believes s/he has at work. CONCLUSION: Professional satisfaction presents in a significantly different manner between genders, referring to the fact that professionals have different perceptions of their work. In the women, the importance and degree of concern about job security was evident. In the men, the predominant motivation was participation in important decisions, and the flexibility and freedom at work.
Occupational health nursing; Job satisfaction; Personal satisfaction; Occupational health
