DOES BEING IN THE MILITARY AFFECT NURSES PERCEPTIONS OF WORK LIFE

This study was a causal comparative investigation of military and civi lian nurses' perceptions of selected aspects of work life. The Work En vironment Scale, the Maslach Bumout Inventory and the Michigan Job Sat isfaction Scale were administered to civilian and military samples mat ched on selected demographic variables. MANOVA procedures failed to re veal significant differences on measures of bumout and morale. Althoug h military nurses were significantly more satisfied with issues of pay and fringe benefits, civilian nurses reported significantly greater j ob satisfaction, peer cohesion, supervisory support, decision making, autonomy, task orientation and opportunity to be innovative. These fin dings and suggested changes are discussed with attention to difference s between the military and civilian work setting.