JOB SATISFACTION OF ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSES: THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background. Advanced practice nurses (APNs) represent a highly skilled segment of the healthcare workforce and play a critical role in improving access to care, quality of services, and patient outcomes. Ensuring job satisfaction among APNs is essential for workforce retention, pro­fessional well-being, and organizational sustainability.

Objective. To systematically review and synthesize the evidence on individual and organizational factors associa­ted with job satisfaction among advanced practice nurses.

Methods. A systematic review was conducted in accor­dance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systema­tic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2020 and 2024 were identified through PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies examining job satisfaction among APNs were included. Due to hetero­geneity in study designs and outcome measures, a nar­rative synthesis was performed.

Results. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Indi­vidual factors including age, professional experience, motivation, and perceived competence, demonstrated in­consistent associations with job satisfaction. In contrast, organizational factors – such as leadership support, work environment, professional autonomy, staffing levels, and role clarity – were consistently associated with job sa­tisfaction across studies. High workload, insufficient staffing, and role ambiguity were linked to lower satis­faction levels.

Conclusions. Findings highlight the critical role of or­ganizational conditions, suggesting that leadership stra­tegies, work environment optimization, and role clarity should be prioritized in workforce policies aimed at im­proving APN retention and healthcare system perfor­mance.