Job Satisfaction among Nurses Working at a Tertiary-Level Hospital in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background In security force hospitals such as Nepal APF Hospital, job satisfaction among nurses plays a crucial role in ensuring quality patient care, organizational stability, morale and motivation of troops and workforce retention. Here, nurses perform dual responsibilities within a disciplined security framework, which may uniquely influence their professional satisfaction. However, limited research has explored job satisfaction among nurses working in security-based healthcare institutions in Nepal. This study aimed to determine the overall level of job satisfaction and to examine its association with socio-demographic characteristics and organizational benefits. Methods This was a hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Nepal APF Hospital, Balambu, Kathmandu. A total of 86 nurses were approached; 82 completed questionnaires were included in the final analysis. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire with consent sampling, comprising socio-demographic variables and the 13-item Mueller/McCloskey Satisfaction Scale (MMSS-13). The total possible score ranged from 13 to 65. Data were initially entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and appropriate parametric or non-parametric tests were applied. Results The overall mean job satisfaction score was 2.96 (SD = 0.51) on a five-point scale, indicating slightly below-average satisfaction. Among 82 nurses, more than half (53.7%) reported low satisfaction, 43.9% reported moderate satisfaction, and only 2.4% reported high satisfaction. No significant associations were found between job satisfaction and socio-demographic variables (p > .05). Only Higher education opportunities demonstrated a marginal association with job satisfaction, F (1, 80) = 3.74, p = .057, explaining 4.5% of variance (η² = .045) Conclusions Nurses at Nepal APF Hospital demonstrated low-to-moderate job satisfaction. Findings suggest that structural and organizational factors, particularly professional development opportunities, play a more influential role than individual characteristics. Institutional improvement in career advancement initiatives may enhance morale, retention, and healthcare service delivery.