Specialty cardiac nurses’ work satisfaction is influenced by the type of coronary care unit: A mixed methods study

Background Many dedicated Coronary Care Units (CCUs) in Victoria, Australia, have been decommissioned and replaced with larger combined generic medical/cardiac precincts called hybrid units. Hybrid units are staffed with a low proportion of specialist critical care nurses. These changes may pose risks to nurse satisfaction and retention, and quality of patient care. The aims of this study were to explore specialist cardiac nurses’ perceived work satisfaction across four CCUs, and differences in satisfaction between dedicated and hybrid CCUs.