C R I T IC A L C A R E Job satisfaction and importance for intensive care unit research coordinators: results from binational survey Claire M Rickard RN, PhD Professor of Nursing, Research Centre for Practice Innovation, Griffith University, QLD, Australia Brigit L Roberts RN, Cert ICU ICU Medical Research Coordinator, Department of Intensive Care, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia Jonathon Foote RN, Cert ICU Research Officer/Laboratory Manager, Department of Intensive Care, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, SA, Australia Matthew R McGrail BSc (Hons) Statistician/PhD Candidate, Monash University School of Rural Health, Latrobe Regional Hospital, Moe, Vic, Australia Submitted for publication: 8 August 2005 Accepted for publication: 8 April 2006 Correspondence: Claire M Rickard Research Centre for Practice Innovation Griffith University 170 Kessels Road Nathan QLD 4III Australia Telephone: þ61 (0) 7 3735 6460 E-mail: c.rickard@griffith.edu.au 1640 R I C K A R D C M , R O B E R T S B L , F O O T E J & M c G R A I L M R ( 2 0 0 7 ) Journal of Clinical Nursing 16, 1640–1650 Job satisfaction and importance for intensive care unit research coordinators: results from binational survey Objective. To measure Intensive Care Unit Research coordinator job satisfaction and importance and to identify priorities for role development. Background. Research coordinator numbers are growing internationally in response to increasing clinical research activity. In Australia, 1% of registered nurses work principally in research, many as Research coordinators. Internationally, the Association of Clinical Research Professionals currently has 6536 certified Research coordinators in 13 countries, with likely additional large numbers practicing without the voluntary certification. Research coordinators are almost always nurses, but little is know about this emerging specialty. Design. Cross-sectional study using anonymous self-report questionnaire. Methods. After ethics approval, the McCloskey–Mueller Satisfaction Scale and McCloskey–Mueller Importance Scale were administered via the Internet. The sample was 49 (response rate 71%) Research coordinators from the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Unit Research coordinators’ Interest Group. Results. Research coordinators were satisfied with structural aspects of the position working business hours; flexibility of working hours; high levels of responsibility and control over their work. Dissatisfaction was expressed regarding: remuneration and recognition; compensation for weekend work; salary package; career advancement opportunities; and childcare facilities. Conclusions. High priorities for role development are those rated highly important but with much lower satisfaction. These are: compensation for weekend call-out  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01713.x Research coordinator job satisfaction Critical care work; salary and remuneration package; recognition by management and clinicians; career advancement opportunities; departmental research processes; encouragement and feedback; and number of working hours. Relevance to clinical practice. Increasing numbers of nurses have been attracted to this clinically based research position. These data contribute to the understanding and development of the role. Key words: intensive care, job satisfaction, nurses, nursing, questionnaires, research personnel Introduction The demand for evidence upon which to base healthcare has never been stronger. Health professionals, policy makers and the public are increasingly research savvy and there is a constant stream of new treatments requiring clinical testing. This has resulted in new roles for health professionals who specialise in research, in particular the Research Coordinator (RC). Research Coordinators (RCs) work within clinical departments, such as hospital wards, and are responsible for the management of research undertaken in that setting. As such, they specialise in a field of clinical research, such as oncology or cardiology. The role involves various aspects of clinical, academic, administrative and laboratory work. RCs coordinate trials of new medications that require testing for safety and efficacy under strict conditions, as well as departmental research undertaken with the unit doctors, nurses and other health professionals. RC positions are almost always filled by nurses who bring to the research role their skills in patient assessment, education and advocacy. In addition, nurses bring their ability to coordinate patient care between a myriad of health professionals, hospital departments and other health services. Anecdotal reports describing the position abound with over 70 articles published, the majority since 1990; unfortunately, research into the position is scarce (Roberts & Rickard 2005). Within the critical care specialty, anecdotal reports of RCs have emerged from emergency/trauma departments in North America (Seguin 1990, Unkle et al. 1990, Jones & MitchellInwang 2002) and Australia (Armitage 1997, Waller 2003), a New Zealand coronary care unit (Williams 1999), and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the UK (Jones & MitchellInwang 2002), USA (Knight-Bohnhoff et al. 1995, Anonymous 2003) and South Africa (Steere 1990). The descriptions of the RC role in critical care areas suggest more involvement in departmental projects than in some other specialties where pharmaceutical trials predominate. Critical care RCs seem more likely to undertake literature reviews, protocol development, data analysis and presentation/publication of results (Steere 1990, Unkle et al. 1990, Knight-Bohnhoff et al. 1995, Williams 1999, Waller 2003). The role to mentor other health professionals in research processes and implementation of findings is also emphasized (Jones & Mitchell-Inwang 2002). Critical care RCs must be experts in the processes for obtaining informed consent with unconscious and/or intubated patients, as well as manage a setting where patients may enter complex research protocols 24 hours a day, seven days a week (Unkle et al. 1990, Knight-Bohnhoff et al. 1995, Jones & Mitchell-Inwang 2002). The role in Australasian ICUs has never been studied and only recently described (Roberts & Rickard 2005). RC numbers have continued to rise in recent years (Mueller & Mamo 2000). In Australia, 1% of registered nurses work in the research field, although the breakdown of RC vs. other research positions is unknown (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2005). A total of 10 723 RCs from 13 countries have passed the examination to obtain RC certification from the Association of Clinical Research Professionals since 1992 (Association of Clinical Research Professionals 2005). This is in addition to the unknown number of RCs working internationally without certification, which is voluntary, involves a fee and requires rigorous assessment. An important but poorly understood issue is that of job satisfaction for those in the RC role. Only one prior study has specifically examined RC job satisfaction in a survey of mostly North American RCs working on a cardiac trial (Kellen et al. 1994). This study found average job satisfaction to be 3Æ6 on a five-point scale (5 ¼ a great deal). Items ranked most positively were: autonomy, opportunities to increase knowledge, challenges of doing research, patient contact and continuity. Fewer items were dissatisfactory including: recruitment difficulties, patient deaths, inadequate salary, physician unavailability and excessive paperwork. A related study investigated the RC role compared with a clinical nursing role (Mueller & Mamo 2002). Interviews with 24 RCs in North America from a variety of specialties identified both advantages and disadvantages in: relationships with patients and medical researchers,  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1641 CM Rickard et al. the acquisition of technical/clinical skills and knowledge and work autonomy/control (Mueller & Mamo 2002). Many anecdotal reports and reviews have raised similar issues regarding the RC role. The autonomous nature of the position is frequently cited as providing job satisfaction, as well as the frustrations of professional isolation (Ecklund 1999, Williams 1999, Waller 2003). Most authors have promoted positive views regarding the opportunities and satisfaction to be obtained in the RC role (Raybuck 1997, Williams 1999, Kenkre & Foxcroft 2001). Whilst this is encouraging, there remains an absence of objective data on the RC role obtained from prospective studies using validated instruments to measure satisfaction. Furthermore, the issue of RC job satisfaction amongst ICU RCs or for RCs in regions other than North America, has not been previously studied. The rapid increase in RC numbers suggests the position is important for clinical research; however, to date these positions have been somewhat ‘invisible’ and are rarely recognized in professional career paths or industrial awards (Raja-Jones 2002, Waller 2003, Roberts & Rickard 2005). The UK has recently seen the recognition of research career paths for nurses, including one for RCs (Kenkre & Foxcroft 2001, Kenkre et al. 2001). In most countries, however, RCs exist in a grey area between the health professions, university research awards, and the pharmaceutical industry. The next stage in the development of the position is formal investigations that will provide reliable data. Identification of the level of satisfaction and the related issues that promote or limit satisfaction will be important to policy-makers, health managers and RCs themselves as this new role continues to grow within the world of evidence-based healthcare. Methods Design Cross-sectional study using a self-report questionnaire. This approach was chosen to provide a snapshot of the current situation and to obtain data from the cohort of interest. Objectives The aims of this study were to: 1 Measure the level of job satisfaction amongst ICU RCs in Australia and New Zealand; 2 Measure the importance of a range of job variables to ICU RCs in Australia and New Zealand; 3 Develop priorities for role development based on the comparative levels of satisfaction with, and importance of, a range of job variables. 1642 This study was part of a larger survey that also examined demographics, role content, role structure and perceived positive and negative aspects of the role. These data are reported elsewhere (Rickard et al. 2006, Roberts et al. 2006). Study procedures Permission was given from the Australia and New Zealand ICU Research Coordinators’ Interest Group (IRCIG) for the investigators to distribute the study information on a closed emailing list. Participation was voluntary, anonymous and took approximately 20 minutes to complete on a secure website. Submissions were possible for a two-month period in 2004, with completed questionnaires delivered by the computer server over the Internet to the researchers. Computer IP addresses were not collected so as to ensure anonymity. Questionnaire The previously validated, 31-item McCloskey–Mueller Satisfaction Scale (MMSS) (Mueller & McCloskey 1990) was distributed. This tool was developed for nurses working in the clinical setting. However, in the absence of an RC-specific job satisfaction instrument, the MMSS was deemed appropriate as most RCs are nurses and based in the clinical setting. Some MMSS questions were slightly adjusted to be RC specific, e.g. ‘research processes’ for ‘delivery of care method’, ‘medical staff involved in research’ for ‘physicians you work with’. We also administered what we have named the McCloskey–Mueller Importance Scale (MMIS), an adapted MMSS with identical job items rated for ‘importance’ rather than ‘satisfaction’ as suggested by previous users of the MMSS (Mueller & McCloskey 1990, Ajamieh et al. 1996, Price 2002). Both instruments had minor variations to the wording to be specific to the Australasian context, e.g. ‘annual leave entitlements’ for ‘vacation’, ‘academics’ for ‘faculty’. Permission to use the MMSS and clarification about the meaning of various questions were obtained from the developers. Principal components analysis with varimax analysis was performed to assess the underlying dimensions present within the MMIS. Only factors with eigenvalues >1 were extracted and only loadings >0Æ30 have been included. Identification of priorities for role development The relative importance and satisfaction scores were compared to allow a richer interpretation of satisfaction data, and to develop priorities for addressing these issues. Issues with low job satisfaction but high importance were considered as the most urgent priority for action. Items ranked low for both  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Research coordinator job satisfaction Critical care satisfaction and importance were interpreted as a second priority, unless easily rectifiable. Items ranked high for both satisfaction and importance were interpreted as a commendation for management and supervisors. Ethics Ethics Committee approval was obtained prior to circulation of the questionnaire. An explanatory statement attached to the questionnaire clearly stated that participation was voluntary and anonymous. Results ‘moderately satisfied’ ranking of the five-point scale. See Table 1. Research Coordinator satisfaction was higher for those who worked with other RCs (MMSS mean 3Æ99 vs. 3Æ80 for solo RCs), and for those who initiated their own research (MMSS mean 3Æ91 vs. 3Æ80 for non-initiators). Importance The overall mean importance score was 4Æ27 (SD 0Æ99), i.e. between moderately and very important. See Table 2. Many (18 of 31) items were rated as moderately or very important by 90% or more of respondents. Sample Relationship between satisfaction and importance scores There were 49 respondents from the mailing-list membership of 69 (response rate 71%). Respondents were predominantly female nurses, with an age of 21–60 years (55% £40 years). Most worked in the government sector and all held tertiary qualifications. Over half had additional postgraduate degrees, 12% had completed and a further 20% were currently enrolled in a research degree, such as a PhD. Approximately half of all RCs were full-time and most part-timers worked at least three days per week. Part-time RCs usually (67%) had additional jobs, usually clinical roles, but also in education, management, quality assurance, or other research positions. Most (80%) RCs were the sole RC in their unit. A third had been in the position for four years or more and another third had undertaken previous research positions. Most RCs were involved with pharmaceutical trials, multi-site trials with the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group, departmental medical and nursing research and trauma registries/audits. Over one third also initiated their own research projects. Further information on the sample demographics is published elsewhere (Rickard et al. 2006). The best and worst aspects as perceived by the RCs were described in free text. ‘Best’ statements from this analysis included: ‘building towards the future and endeavouring to produce the best care available to the future patients of ICU’. Worst aspects included: ‘having to keep an eye on the dollar’. These aspects have been reported elsewhere (Roberts et al. 2006). The difference between mean satisfaction and importance scores varied from 1Æ8 to þ0Æ7. See Table 3. Few items were ranked equally for the importance placed upon them and satisfaction with that variable. For some items, importance outweighed satisfaction and vice versa (Table 4). Validity of McCloskey–Mueller importance scale Factor analysis identified 11 factors under which the items converged. See Table 5. Examination of the scree-plot (Fig. 1) supported an 11-factor solution, explaining 77Æ3% of the variance. These factors were fairly consistently grouped as per those reported previously for the MMSS (Mueller & McCloskey 1990). In addition we have termed the extra three factors as ‘Work/Life Balance’, ‘Control/Conditions’ and ‘Compensation – Weekends’. Factor coefficients ranged from 0Æ25 to 0Æ94, with only three of the 11 having a score of ‡0Æ70. The item ‘working with ICU research staff’ did not intuitively belong under factor 5 ‘Extrinsic Rewards’ (all other items under this factor relate to salary/package entitlements). However, another correlation factor (of 0Æ31) falls under factor 7 ‘Research Department’, which includes several items in the area of inter-personal work relationships, and seems a better fit. For three items, there was a significant increase in alpha values if these were removed from the analysis. Factors 3, 5 and 6 had coefficients of 0Æ79, 0Æ64 and 0Æ67 if the items ‘number of hours worked’, ‘relationship with other ICU research staff’, or ‘interaction with other disciplines’ were deleted (respectively). Satisfaction Research Coordinators were generally more satisfied than dissatisfied with the position. The average satisfaction score was 3Æ84 (SD 1Æ14), which correlated most closely with the Discussion This survey of RCs employed in Australian and New Zealand ICUs found overall high levels of job satisfaction. The  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1643 CM Rickard et al. Table 1 Satisfaction scores Item no. Item n 6 5 8 29 22 13 19 30 15 14 11 7 17 31 9 2 18 21 28 27 16 26 4 25 20 24 23 1 3 12 10 Work normal business hours (non-shift-work) Flexibility of your days of work Amount of weekends off per month Level of responsibility Level of control that you have over your work Your immediate supervisor Opportunities to interact professionally with disciplines other than your own Level of control over your working conditions ICU medical staff who act as PIs, CIs or research director Working with the ICU research staff (other RCs) Option for maternity/paternity leave Opportunity to work part-time or option to do so if you so desired Opportunities for social contact with colleagues at work Level of input into decision making Flexibility of specific weekends off without being on call Annual leave entitlements Opportunities for social contact with colleagues outside of work Opportunities to belong to ICU committees Opportunities to write and publish journal articles Opportunities to undertake your own research Overall research processes in the unit Encouragement and positive feedback that you receive Number of hours worked Recognition of your work by ICU clinical staff (i.e. doctors, nurses, allied health) Opportunities to interact with university departments and academics Recognition of your work from ICU management Opportunities for career advancement The level of your salary Other aspects of your remuneration package, i.e. phone/laptop Child care facilities located at or convenient to your organization Compensation if you have to work on weekends 49 49 49 49 49 49 49 49 49 32 23 47 49 49 48 49 49 49 48 49 49 49 49 49 48 49 48 49 48 21 34 Mean Very or moderately satisfied (%) Very or moderately dissatisfied (%) 4Æ82 4Æ49 4Æ47 4Æ45 4Æ37 4Æ27 4Æ20 4Æ18 4Æ10 4Æ09 4Æ09 4Æ04 4Æ02 3Æ96 3Æ90 3Æ86 3Æ78 3Æ78 3Æ67 3Æ65 3Æ61 3Æ55 3Æ51 3Æ51 3Æ50 3Æ49 3Æ25 3Æ16 2Æ92 2Æ90 2Æ88 94 90 86 90 90 86 84 82 82 78 74 66 82 73 65 76 57 61 50 53 65 55 61 57 44 59 50 45 40 38 35 0 4 6 4 8 6 4 8 8 9 4 6 8 16 19 12 6 8 10 16 20 22 27 20 10 24 33 31 42 38 50 ICU, intensive care unit; RC, research coordinator. average satisfaction score of 3Æ84 compares favourably with previously reported MMSS scores of 3Æ27–3Æ44 in clinical nurses (McCloskey & McCain 1987). The score is comparable to that of 3Æ6 obtained using a different five-point scale in the only previous study of RC job satisfaction (Kellen et al. 1994). When viewed as an average cumulative score, the mean satisfaction was 117Æ5 from a possible range of 31–155. The generally good job satisfaction is encouraging and consistent with many positive anecdotal reports. The most satisfying aspects of the RC position were structural (e.g. hours of work, autonomy) and relationship components (with other professionals and researchers). These items are consistent with those identified by RCs in North American research (Kellen et al. 1994, Mueller & Mamo 2002). Least satisfying were items reflecting reward and recognition (e.g. salary and promotion opportunities); these issues are a concern. 1644 Research Coordinators ranked most MMIS items as highly important with a mean score of 4Æ27 out of 5 (a mean cumulative score of 132 out of 155). The results indicated a group who place very high importance on most aspects of their job, particularly the level of control over their work and the quality of their workplace relationships. When using importance data to identify priorities to improve job satisfaction, clear patterns emerged. The most pressing areas of concern were those ranked as highly important, but of low satisfaction. The most concerning problem was that of inadequate remuneration packages, all aspects of which were deemed very unsatisfactory, with the most outstanding issue being inadequate compensation when required to work on weekends. At times of high patient recruitment onto trials, RCs often work overtime, after hours or at weekends to ensure that study requirements are fulfilled. Many are not paid overtime rates or on-call allowances for  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Research coordinator job satisfaction Critical care Table 2 Importance scores Item no. Item n Mean Very or moderately important (%) Very or moderately unimportant (%) 30 31 22 15 16 13 10 29 24 26 4 1 5 25 14 2 23 9 8 6 19 17 3 27 7 28 20 11 21 18 12 Level of control over working conditions Level of input into decision making Level of control over work ICU medical staff involved in research Research processes in unit Immediate supervisor Compensation for working weekends Level of responsibility Recognition by ICU management Encouragement & positive feedback The number of hours worked Salary level Flexibility of days of work Recognition by ICU clinical staff Working with ICU research staff Annual leave entitlements Career advancement opportunities Flexibility of weekends off (without on-call) Number of weekends off per month Work normal business hours (non-shifts) Interaction with other disciplines Social contact with colleagues at work Non-salary aspects of remuneration package Opportunity to undertake own research Having the option to work part-time Writing & publishing journal articles Interaction with universities & academics Availability of maternity/paternity leave Membership of departmental committees Social contact with colleagues outside work Convenient childcare facilities available 49 49 48 49 49 49 49 48 49 48 49 48 48 49 49 48 49 49 48 48 49 49 48 49 48 48 49 47 49 49 49 4Æ88 4Æ84 4Æ83 4Æ82 4Æ78 4Æ76 4Æ71 4Æ71 4Æ69 4Æ65 4Æ59 4Æ58 4Æ56 4Æ55 4Æ49 4Æ48 4Æ45 4Æ45 4Æ38 4Æ38 4Æ20 4Æ00 3Æ98 3Æ88 3Æ69 3Æ60 3Æ47 3Æ38 3Æ37 3Æ22 3Æ08 100 100 100 96 98 100 94 100 100 92 100 100 90 96 90 92 94 90 83 86 82 80 75 71 60 56 53 43 53 43 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 4 6 6 4 10 19 13 20 23 18 20 27 ICU, intensive care unit. this additional work and only some are able to take time off in lieu. Inadequate RC salaries as a source of dissatisfaction was identified a decade ago, but has not been addressed (Kellen et al. 1994). Most RCs have a salary of £AUD$55 000 (approximately €34Æ100) and one in five £AUD$45 000 (approximately €27Æ900). This is considerably lower than RCs could earn if working in a clinical, education or management position. Most RCs are highly qualified and experienced nurses who may seek alternate positions if salary levels are not addressed. The current situation probably reflects a lack of certainty about where RCs ‘fit in’ to the various health or research career structures. We suggest that starting salaries should be ‡$AUD55 000 (approximately €34Æ100) gross plus superannuation, a mobile phone and possibly a laptop computer. For RCs with more experience, qualifications, or who coordinate larger research departments, higher remuneration on a graduated scale would be appropriate. Another key area of concern for RCs is the number of hours worked. When workloads are high, such as when many patients are concurrently enrolled into a trial, RCs often work extra hours but are rarely given extra remuneration. Part-time RCs may desire increased hours; however, as most positions rely on short term funding rather than a dedicated position from the ICU budget, there may be reluctance by budget managers to do so. Research Coordinator dissatisfaction with excessive hours is no doubt linked to the reported dissatisfaction with compensation for weekend call-outs and the salary package overall. A crucial area where importance far outweighs satisfaction was that of recognition and career progression. Many RCs believe their work is undervalued by ICU management and clinical staff. This is concerning and surprising; the RC is a key member of the ICU whose work provides evidence for clinical practice and prestige for the unit. Feeling undervalued is likely to be linked to poor wages, ill-defined position  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1645 CM Rickard et al. Table 3 Satisfaction scores compared with importance scores Number Item Satisfaction Importance Difference 10 1 24 23 16 26 4 3 25 31 15 30 2 9 13 22 14 29 27 22 5 19 17 20 28 8 7 21 6 18 11 Compensation for working weekends Salary level Recognition by ICU management Career advancement opportunities Research processes in unit Encouragement & positive feedback The number of hours worked Non-salary aspects of remuneration package Recognition by ICU clinical staff Level of input into decision making ICU medical staff involved in research Level of control over working conditions Annual leave entitlements Flexibility of weekends off without on-call Immediate supervisor Level of control over work Working with ICU research staff Level of responsibility Opportunity to undertake own research Childcare facilities at or convenient to work Flexibility of days of work Opportunity to interact with other disciplines Opportunities for social contact with colleagues at work Opportunities to interact with universities/academics Opportunities to write/publish Number of weekends off per month Opportunity/option to work part-time Opportunities to belong to ICU committees Opportunity to work normal business hours (non-shifts) Opportunities for social contact with colleagues outside work Option for maternity/paternity leave 2Æ9 3Æ2 3Æ5 3Æ3 3Æ6 3Æ6 3Æ5 2Æ9 3Æ5 4Æ0 4Æ1 4Æ2 3Æ9 3Æ9 4Æ3 4Æ4 4Æ1 4Æ4 3Æ7 2Æ9 4Æ5 4Æ2 4Æ0 3Æ5 3Æ7 4Æ5 4Æ0 3Æ8 4Æ8 3Æ8 4Æ1 4Æ7 4Æ6 4Æ7 4Æ4 4Æ8 4Æ6 4Æ6 4Æ0 4Æ6 4Æ8 4Æ8 4Æ9 4Æ5 4Æ4 4Æ8 4Æ8 4Æ5 4Æ7 3Æ9 3Æ1 4Æ6 4Æ2 4Æ0 3Æ5 3Æ6 4Æ4 3Æ7 3Æ4 4Æ3 3Æ2 3Æ4 1Æ8 1Æ4 1Æ2 1Æ1 1Æ2 1Æ0 1Æ1 1Æ1 1Æ1 0Æ8 0Æ7 0Æ7 0Æ6 0Æ5 0Æ5 0Æ4 0Æ4 0Æ3 0Æ2 0Æ2 0Æ1 0 0 0 0Æ1 0Æ1 0Æ3 0Æ4 0Æ5 0Æ6 0Æ7 ICU, intensive care unit. descriptions, short-term contracts and a lack of respect from colleagues/managers. In addition, RCs were dissatisfied with opportunities for career advancement. In Australia and New Zealand, as in many countries, RCs have no recognized career structure, either within the health professional (e.g. nursing) or the academic research structures. The UK Royal College of Nursing, in contrast, has well recognized RC pathways from novice to expert, with clearly differentiated appointment and salary levels (Kenkre & Foxcroft 2001). Currently RCs are employed on a variety of employment classifications, which differ by country and State. One solution would be to employ RCs under the National Health and Medical Research Council classifications. This would allow standardization and improve visibility of the RC role. Research Coordinators felt overall research processes in their units were not up to the standards that they felt important. Despite reporting high levels of responsibility, control and decision-making input, it seems RCs are not able to have as much influence as they would like in order to 1646 streamline the standard of research processes. This may suggest that while the RC can control the quality of the research projects they directly manage, they are not always able to influence other researchers in the unit. This issue is likely linked to the previously discussed undervaluing of the RC role by ICU managers and clinicians. As the only ICU staff member/s with a dedicated research focus, RCs are the most likely to recognize areas of research process that could be streamlined or improved, and we encourage managers to seek RCs views and support them in implementing change. On a commendable note for those who employ and manage RCs, many job items that were highly important to RCs also provided high satisfaction. These included the structure of working hours; the Monday–Friday day shift basis combined with flexibility is keenly appreciated by RCs who are predominantly ex-shift workers. The autonomous nature of the position with high control over work, responsibility and decision-making input is highly valued and enjoyed by RCs. Lastly, RCs were strongly committed to  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Research coordinator job satisfaction Critical care Table 4 High/low satisfaction vs. high/low importance Importance Satisfaction Low <3Æ5 High ‡4Æ0 High ‡4Æ0 Maternity/paternity leave Low <3Æ5 Child care facilities Working normal business hours Number of weekends off per month Flexibility of days of work Control over work Level of responsibility Immediate supervisor Control over work conditions Interaction with other disciplines ICU medical researchers Working with other RCs Input into decision making Social contact at work Compensation for weekend work Salary level Recognition by management Career advancement Research processes Encouragement, feedback Number of hours worked Remuneration package Recognition by ICU clinical staff ICU, intensive care unit; RC, research coordinator. and satisfied by their interactions with other health professionals, particularly medical researchers and research staff. Convenient child care was the only item to achieve both low importance and satisfaction. Although the importance score was influenced by those who did not have children, the low mean satisfaction score did not change when isolated to those (n ¼ 21) for whom child care was of moderate or very high importance. Maternity/paternity leave was also of low importance, but of high satisfaction. In Australia, 12 months unpaid maternity leave is standard and nurses receive 12 weeks paid leave. There was much missing data for both items’ satisfaction but almost none for importance. Therefore, mean satisfaction for these items probably reflects those who actually use them, whereas mean importance scores were reduced by the many RCs without young children. Whilst maternity/paternity leave provisions appear adequate to return successfully to work early, or at all, improvements in childcare facilities are needed. The significant missing MMSS data for these questions pose issues in the use of the tool. We did not substitute values for missing data but possibly a score of 3 ‘neither satisfied nor dissatisfied’ should be used. This issue has not been raised by previous MMSS users. The use of the previously validated MMSS to measure job satisfaction levels was a strength of this study along with an acceptable response rate. However, there were some limitations of this method. The tool was developed for clinical nurses and may not capture all of the concepts inherent to RC satisfaction. Our application of the tool as a web-based questionnaire has not been previously undertaken and, whilst the guaranteed anonymity may have encouraged honest answers, it may have allowed RCs to submit more than one survey. We found no evidence of this and, considering the time required to complete the questionnaire, this seems unlikely. Our sample from the Australian and New Zealand ICU group somewhat limits the generalizability of results to this region and specialty. There is variability between RC role structures and functions in different institutions and, while we have reported overall satisfaction and importance levels, we did not analyse for the effect that demographic, educational or job-related factors may have on satisfaction. Despite this, most variables had the majority of responses in one direction (positive or negative). Australasian ICUs are on the whole relatively homogenous, being ‘closed’ (admitting rights only to intensive care specialists), having ICU-only nursing staff, and the binational research community is strong, with a large number of collaborative multi-site trials. The RC satisfaction data presented here provide a benchmark that will allow future comparison with other specialties, nations, and over time periods. Inter-item correlations for the MMIS were observed to be grouped in a similar manner to that noted by the developers of the MMSS, although with two more factors (Mueller & McCloskey 1990). This suggests that the concept of job variable importance is more complex than that of job satisfaction. Some MMIS item loadings were split between ‡ two factors at values of ‡0Æ30, although in most cases there was a clearly dominant value. The extra three MMIS factors that emerged in our analysis seemed to correspond to the domains of Safety (Work/Life balance, Compensation-Weekends), and Psychological Rewards (Control/Conditions) as conceptualized in the three factor (Safety/ Social/Psychological) nursing rewards/satisfaction model (McCloskey 1974, Mueller & McCloskey 1990). Three items, when removed, displayed a significant increase in the Cronbach’s alpha. These items may be too general to convey a specific concept and, perhaps, should be dropped. Future work should further assess the MMIS, particularly where there is ‡2:1 ratio of participants to items (Kline 1994). Our ratio was lower; however, it provides the first data supporting validity of the MMIS. The ability to measure both job satisfaction and the perceived importance of job variables is beneficial when interpreting satisfaction scores. We hope that  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1647 CM Rickard et al. Table 5 Factor analysis for McCloskey–Mueller importance scale Factor Importance – items Professional opportunities Undertaking own research Write & publish journal articles Membership of departmental committees Interaction with universities & academics Career advancement Praise/recognition Having work recognized by clinical staff Receiving encouragement & positive feedback Having work recognized by ICU management Work/life balance Flexibility of weekends off (without on-call) Number of weekends off per month The number of hours worked Family/work balance Availability of maternity/paternity leave Convenient childcare facilities available Extrinsic rewards Annual leave entitlements Non-salary aspects of remuneration package Salary level Work relationship with other ICU research staff Interaction Social contact with colleagues outside work Social contact with colleagues at work Interaction with other disciplines Research department Working relationship with ICU medical staff who act as PIs, CIs or research director What the research processes in the unit are What the immediate supervisor is like Control/responsibility Having responsibility at work Having control over work Having input into decision making at work Flexibility days/hours Flexibility of days of work Having the option to work part-time Control/conditions Having control over working conditions Work normal business hours (Non-shifts) Compensation-weekends Being compensated to work on weekends Cronbach’s alpha Alpha if item deleted Eigenvalue Variance explained (%) 1 2 3 4 0Æ83 0Æ13 0Æ01 0Æ82 0Æ15 0Æ01 0Æ80 0Æ13 0Æ06 0Æ77 0Æ26 0Æ10 0Æ54 0Æ08 0Æ14 0Æ23 0Æ03 0Æ25 0Æ84 0Æ03 0Æ82 0Æ15 0Æ60 0Æ03 5 6 7 0Æ05 0Æ00 0Æ05 0Æ12 0Æ11 0Æ11 0Æ04 0Æ04 0Æ32 0Æ01 0Æ01 0Æ09 0Æ29 0Æ34 0Æ11 0Æ15 0Æ25 0Æ17 0Æ09 0Æ05 0Æ14 0Æ04 0Æ00 0Æ10 0Æ16 0Æ02 0Æ14 0Æ10 0Æ02 0Æ10 0Æ01 0Æ05 0Æ14 0Æ16 0Æ10 0Æ24 0Æ17 0Æ22 0Æ13 0Æ21 0Æ05 0Æ04 0Æ03 0Æ01 0Æ21 0Æ01 0Æ05 0Æ28 0Æ12 0Æ02 0Æ10 0Æ23 0Æ17 0Æ10 0Æ04 0Æ13 0Æ00 0Æ10 0Æ03 0Æ17 0Æ21 0Æ11 0Æ16 0Æ16 0Æ10 0Æ31 0Æ03 0Æ12 0Æ02 0Æ03 0Æ10 0Æ04 0Æ01 0Æ01 0Æ15 0Æ37 0Æ07 0Æ00 0Æ10 0Æ16 0Æ12 0Æ28 0Æ91 0Æ79 0Æ41 0Æ02 0Æ05 0Æ00 0Æ02 0Æ36 0Æ17 0Æ08 0Æ08 0Æ00 0Æ04 0Æ94 0Æ91 8 0Æ04 0Æ05 0Æ11 0Æ01 0Æ05 0Æ02 0Æ34 0Æ08 0Æ05 0Æ06 0Æ09 0Æ01 0Æ23 0Æ15 0Æ03 0Æ02 0Æ13 0Æ36 0Æ31 0Æ03 0Æ11 0Æ05 0Æ03 0Æ19 0Æ28 0Æ41 0Æ12 0Æ15 0Æ03 0Æ02 0Æ25 0Æ46 0Æ01 0Æ01 0Æ05 0Æ22 0Æ22 0Æ05 0Æ12 0Æ78 0Æ01 0Æ63 0Æ28 0Æ62 0Æ21 0Æ55 0Æ10 0Æ20 0Æ12 0Æ05 0Æ19 0Æ04 0Æ05 0Æ13 0Æ28 0Æ23 0Æ23 0Æ38 0Æ42 0Æ14 0Æ21 0Æ05 0Æ06 0Æ09 0Æ40 0Æ74 0Æ73 0Æ43 0Æ15 0Æ01 0Æ10 0Æ03 0Æ20 0Æ07 0Æ20 0Æ07 0Æ09 0Æ12 0Æ15 0Æ13 0Æ37 0Æ16 0Æ67 0Æ59 0Æ20 0Æ28 0Æ10 0Æ04 0Æ17 0Æ08 0Æ18 0Æ06 0Æ27 0Æ05 0Æ21 0Æ08 0Æ24 0Æ02 0Æ11 0Æ14 0Æ31 0Æ02 0Æ17 0Æ01 0Æ08 0Æ07 0Æ01 0Æ05 0Æ08 0Æ16 0Æ02 0Æ00 0Æ02 0Æ08 0Æ23 0Æ01 0Æ09 0Æ10 0Æ28 0Æ15 0Æ85 0Æ10 0Æ75 4Æ63 14Æ95 3Æ24 10Æ46 0Æ08 0Æ68 0Æ79* 3Æ04 9Æ81 0Æ09 0Æ31 0Æ04 0Æ09 0Æ07 0Æ20 0Æ01 0Æ15 0Æ10 0Æ09 0Æ03 0Æ27 0Æ03 0Æ94 2Æ20 7Æ11 0Æ13 0Æ25 0Æ64 1Æ91 6Æ17 0Æ01 0Æ58 0Æ67à 1Æ87 6Æ03 11 0Æ02 0Æ09 0Æ36 0Æ00 0Æ04 0Æ09 0Æ05 10 0Æ02 0Æ14 0Æ18 0Æ06 0Æ04 0Æ02 0Æ05 9 0Æ04 0Æ01 0Æ34 0Æ01 0Æ05 0Æ00 0Æ06 0Æ02 0Æ08 0Æ16 0Æ08 0Æ04 0Æ13 0Æ16 0Æ09 0Æ09 0Æ05 0Æ16 0Æ07 0Æ79 0Æ07 0Æ20 0Æ01 0Æ08 0Æ15 0Æ02 0Æ17 0Æ06 0Æ46 0Æ11 0Æ76 0Æ08 0Æ72 0Æ19 0Æ67 0Æ02 0Æ08 0Æ02 0Æ06 0Æ11 0Æ24 0Æ00 0Æ06 0Æ22 0Æ06 0Æ06 0Æ00 0Æ34 0Æ84 0Æ08 0Æ16 0Æ59 0Æ45 0Æ14 0Æ05 0Æ28 0Æ06 0Æ02 0Æ15 0Æ08 0Æ73 0Æ03 0Æ71 0Æ15 0Æ02 0Æ59 0Æ00 0Æ61 0Æ08 0Æ54 0Æ02 0Æ36 0Æ86 n/a 1Æ73 5Æ59 1Æ59 5Æ14 1Æ42 4Æ59 1Æ20 3Æ86 1Æ12 3Æ61 ICU, intensive care unit. *If ‘the number of hours worked’ deleted. If ‘work relationship with other ICU research staff’ deleted. à If ‘interaction with other disciplines’ deleted’. 1648  2007 The Authors. Journal compilation  2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Research coordinator job satisfaction Critical care Screen-Plot of MMIS items 5 Eigen value 4 3 2 1 0 Figure 1 Scree-plot of McCloskey–Mueller importance scale items. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 this fills the need for such a tool as identified by previous researchers (Mueller & McCloskey 1990, Ajamieh et al. 1996, Price 2002). Factor Contributions Study design: CR, BR, JF, MM; data collection and analysis: CR, BR, JF, MM and manuscript preparation: CR, BR, JF, MM. Conclusions Research Coordinators in Australasian ICUs have high overall levels of job satisfaction. It seems the RC role is an attractive position for those looking to specialize in research but remain in the clinical setting. Research Coordinator numbers have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s and are showing no signs of abating. The specialty has generated many reports in the professional literature but has rarely been subjected to research scrutiny. This study clarifies issues that need to be addressed as this emerging specialty develops. Although RCs enjoy their job, they feel poorly compensated, recognized and perceive a limited career path; these factors are likely to diminish job satisfaction over time, and need to be addressed. Priorities identified in this research as requiring urgent attention are: poor financial remuneration, particularly for weekend call-outs; inadequate professional recognition; lack of career advancement opportunities; excessive working hours; and unsatisfactory departmental research processes. Acknowledgement We thank the ICU Research Coordinators who participated in this research. 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