Introduction

Patient satisfaction with nursing care has become a key determinant of the quality of hospital care.

Aim of the research

To establish the level of patient experience and satisfaction with nursing care as well as their determinants in the cardiosurgical unit.

Material and methods

One hundred cardiosurgical patients were examined. The tools included the Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale (NSNS), the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and a self-written questionnaire.

Results

The average score for satisfaction with nursing care was 77.99 ±20.20 pts, whereas the average nursing care experience amounted to 77.29 ±15.10 pts. Pain being the most significant independent predicator of the two. Each point on the pain scale decreased satisfaction by approximately 2.384 pts (95% CI: –3.997; –0.772, p = 0.005), while experience by 1.168 pts (95% CI: –2.06; –0.276, p = 0.012). The higher the level of patients’ satisfaction with pain management and its relief, the higher the level of their evaluation of experience (rs = 0.239, p = 0.017) and satisfaction (rs = 0.261, p = 0.009) with nursing care. The patients who were informed by the nurse on how to avoid pain, graded nursing care experience higher than those who were not informed (p = 0.001).

Conclusions

The cardiosurgical patients showed high levels of satisfaction and experience with nursing care. Pain was the main determinant of satisfaction and experience with care and ‘soft skills’ such as informing about pain-relieving methods, showing interest and sympathy, and assisting patients in repositioning appeared to be the crucial factors.