Job satisfaction amongst nurses in an interim secure forensic unit in Wales

All grades of nursing staff in a recently established interim secure forensic unit completed the Index of Work Satisfaction (IWS; n = 40). High levels of job satisfaction were achieved on four of the IWS subscales: (i) professional status; (ii) interaction; (iii) doctor-nurse relationship; and (iv) autonomy. Moderate levels of satisfaction were found on two of the subscales, task requirements and administration, while the salary subscale was the major area of dissatisfaction across the group. The high level of overall satisfaction in this area of psychiatric nursing may be regarded as a significant achievement in the development of new clinical services in what is regarded as a stressful area of nursing. Measures of job satisfaction may be useful benchmarks for evaluating future changes and developments in the service and for monitoring and improving the clinical work environment.