Psychological Safety in Enhancing the Competence of Nurse Educator Among Early Career Nursing Faculty in Japan: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background
Given the diverse roles and responsibilities expected of academic nurse educators, it is essential that they acquire relevant nursing educator competencies. Early career nursing faculty often struggle to engage in their tasks. Therefore, systematic support is crucial in developing the necessary capacities for early career nursing faculty. In organizational sociology, the positive interaction between organizational and individual resources enhances the competence of nurse educators. Psychological safety enhances organizational members' ability to cope with challenges and perform effectively. It may also foster a high sense of coherence, linked to improved job performance and competence in nursing faculty. Both psychological safety and coherence promote work engagement, further boosting nurse educator competence.

Aim
This study explored the relationships between psychological safety, sense of coherence, work engagement, and competence of nurse educators among assistant professors and assistants in nursing education.

Design
A cross-sectional survey design was used. Data were collected from 164 early career nursing faculty using an anonymous self-administered web-based questionnaire. The study measured the psychological safety, sense of coherence, work engagement, and competence of academic nurse educators. The mediating effects of a sense of coherence and work engagement on the relationship between psychological safety and competency were assessed using the PROCESS macro model. Bootstrapping with 5,000 re-samples was used to determine the significance of the mediating effects.

Setting
The study was conducted from October 1 to December 31, 2022, at nursing universities in Japan.

Results
Positive correlations were identified among psychological safety, sense of coherence, work engagement, and the competence of nurse educator. The sense of coherence and work engagement indirectly mediated the relationship between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator. A serial multiple mediation model demonstrated that psychological safety indirectly influenced the competence of nurse educator through a sense of coherence and work engagement.

Conclusions
Supportive organizational environments foster a sense of coherence, enabling effective resource utilization and the competence of nurse educator development. While structured intervention programs such as faculty development are vital, establishing supportive systems that nurture adaptable qualities and use various resources is also essential. A positive work environment can create a cycle of increasing competency through positive attitudes toward work.

Full text

Psychological safety in enhancing the competence of nurse
educators among early career nursing faculty in Japan: A
cross-sectional study
Miho Satoh
a,*
, Naoko Sato
b
, Noriko Tamura
c
, Akiko Fujimura
d
a
Department of Nursing, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
b
Department of Nursing, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
c
Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, Keio University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
d
Department of Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Psychological safety
Sense of coherence
Competence of nurse educator
Work engagement
Nursing faculty
Cross-sectional analysis
ABSTRACT
Background: Given the diverse roles and responsibilities expected of academic nurse educators, it
is essential that they acquire relevant nursing educator competencies. Early career nursing faculty
often struggle to engage in their tasks. Therefore, systematic support is crucial in developing the
necessary capacities for early career nursing faculty. In organizational sociology, the positive
interaction between organizational and individual resources enhances the competence of nurse
educators. Psychological safety enhances organizational members’ ability to cope with challenges
and perform effectively. It may also foster a high sense of coherence, linked to improved job
performance and competence in nursing faculty. Both psychological safety and coherence pro-
mote work engagement, further boosting nurse educator competence.
Aim: This study explored the relationships between psychological safety, sense of coherence, work
engagement, and competence of nurse educators among assistant professors and assistants in
nursing education.
Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Data were collected from 164 early career
nursing faculty using an anonymous self-administered web-based questionnaire. The study
measured the psychological safety, sense of coherence, work engagement, and competence of
academic nurse educators. The mediating effects of a sense of coherence and work engagement on
the relationship between psychological safety and competency were assessed using the PROCESS
macro model. Bootstrapping with 5,000 re-samples was used to determine the signicance of the
mediating effects.
Setting: The study was conducted from October 1 to December 31, 2022, at nursing universities in
Japan.
Results: Positive correlations were identied among psychological safety, sense of coherence,
work engagement, and the competence of nurse educator. The sense of coherence and work
engagement indirectly mediated the relationship between psychological safety and the compe-
tence of nurse educator. A serial multiple mediation model demonstrated that psychological
* Corresponding author at: Miho Satoh, Department of Nursing, Yokohama City University, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
236-0004, Japan.
E-mail addresses: miho.sth@gmail.com (M. Satoh), naoko-st@fmu.ac.jp (N. Sato), norry@sfc.keio.ac.jp (N. Tamura), a-fujimura@thcu.ac.jp
(A. Fujimura).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances
journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-
journal-of-nursing-studies-advances
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2024.100254
Received 10 April 2024; Received in revised form 28 September 2024; Accepted 21 October 2024
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
Available online 24 October 2024
2666-142X/© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).

safety indirectly inuenced the competence of nurse educator through a sense of coherence and
work engagement.
Conclusions: Supportive organizational environments foster a sense of coherence, enabling
effective resource utilization and the competence of nurse educator development. While struc-
tured intervention programs such as faculty development are vital, establishing supportive sys-
tems that nurture adaptable qualities and use various resources is also essential. A positive work
environment can create a cycle of increasing competency through positive attitudes toward work.
Contribution of the Paper
What is already known
Early career nursing faculty are often expected to handle diverse tasks without adequate preparation, leading to signicant stress
and suffering.
Systematic organizational support is needed to help early career nursing faculty develop their professional competence and
performance as academic nursing educators.
Although various educational programs, such as faculty development initiatives, are available, they are not standardized across
the country, and attending these programs can be burdensome.
What this paper adds
A sense of coherence or work engagement, enhanced by psychological safety, is a signicant mediator for improving early career
nursing faculty’s competency.
A sense of coherence fostered by psychological safety contributes to competency by increasing work engagement.
Psychological safety encourages the development of personal resources in early-career nursing faculty, which increases positive
job attitudes and enhances professional competencies.
Introduction
Nursing faculty play a multidimensional and vital role in preparing future nursing professionals (Mikkonen et al., 2018; World
Health Organization, 2017; Zlatanovic et al., 2017). Nursing faculty are expected to obtain competencies encompassing educational
knowledge and skills, attitudes, values, academic research, university administration, and community service (e.g., Compagnucci and
Spigarelli, 2020; Czabanowska and Kuhlmann, 2021; Ryht¨
a et al., 2020; Salminen et al., 2021; Zlatanovic et al., 2021).
However, these extensive responsibilities often lead to considerable stress for nursing faculty, especially early career nursing
faculty, owing to the overwhelming number of tasks and future uncertainty (Brown and Sorrell, 2017; Kalensky and Hande, 2017;
McDermid et al., 2013; Weidman, 2013). In Western countries, qualication requirements for nursing faculty have been developed,
and various faculty development programs and training initiatives for new faculty members have been implemented (Lahtinen et al.,
2014; Salminen et al., 2010). Conversely, there is insufcient systematic and standardized pedagogical training for entering an aca-
demic nursing education career track. Additionally, the only requirements for early-career nursing teachers are a bachelor’s degree or
higher and specialized knowledge and experience in nursing, with other requirements determined by individual universities (Ministry
of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, 2021; Suzuki et al., 2019). Thus, early career nursing faculty often transition
directly from clinical practice to academia without any pedagogical training, which leads to considerable stress (Doi et al., 2012;
Suzuki et al., 2019). Early career nursing faculty need to understand the diverse contexts of nursing education and cultivate the ability
to exibly integrate various competencies of nurse educators (Fernandez et al., 2012; Oyamada et al., 2022). Improving early career
competence of nurse educator is therefore essential and requires both self-learning and organizational support (Garner and Bedford,
2021; Groth et al., 2023; Oyamada et al., 2022; Smith et al., 2023; Sudo et al., 2014).
Faculty development programs and competency enhancement training are available at many universities. However, to generate the
spare time and margin to participate in such programs, many faculty members have to adjust their teaching, research, or university
administrative duties, making active participation difcult (Kameoka et al., 2008; Ohki, 2019). In addition, the construction of faculty
development and instructional systems is costly in terms of implementation costs, energy, and workforce, and challenges have been
noted in ongoing maintenance after construction (Nowell et al., 2017). These ndings highlight the need for support that can be
provided naturally as part of daily work without forcibly adjusting work and other duties. To address this issue, it is crucial to utilize
the existing psychosocial resources inherent in the organizations. These resources include mentoring and practical examples from
experienced senior nursing faculty, an organizational atmosphere conducive to the development of faculty members, and collaborative
relationships that promote mutual support. By revitalizing these organizational psychosocial resources, both the organization and its
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
2

members can thrive and opportunities for human resource development can be provided with minimal time and effort (Malik and
Garg, 2020). However, research has not been explored among early career nursing faculty using this approach.
In the eld of organizational sociology, positive interactions between organizational and personal resources can enhance com-
petencies, leading to benecial outcomes (Fredrickson, 2001; Hobfoll, 1989; Xanthopoulou et al., 2009). Organizational resources
enhance individuals’ psychological resources and work engagement, which may lead to increased competencies. Additionally,
enhanced work engagement can promote the psychological resources of individuals, further increasing competency (Shimazu et al.,
2008; Xanthopoulou et al., 2009). Bakker et al. (2007) and Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) argue that organizational resources should be
utilized to enhance job performance through increased work engagement. They also highlight the crucial role of individual resources in
boosting both work engagement and job performance.
Psychological safety, dened as the shared belief that individuals can express ideas and concerns without fear of negative con-
sequences, and organizations in which this is in place are important for newcomers (Edmondson, 1999; Edmondson and Lei, 2014), is
crucial for fostering competence and professional development of early career nursing faculty, but its usefulness has not been examined
with them. In organizations with high psychological safety, individuals can engage in critical discussions and collaborative
problem-solving with condence (Carmeli and Gittell, 2009; Collins and Smith, 2006). Such an environment facilitates critical team
discussions (e.g., Edmondson, 1999), knowledge sharing (Gong et al., 2012; Siemsen et al., 2009), and the development of new insights
and the creation of innovative solutions (Ayala Calvo and García, 2018; Edmondson and Lei, 2014; Zhou and Chen, 2021). It enhances
organizational members’ ability to effectively handle difculties and crises by increasing their ability to respond to challenges, think
and make decisions (Frazier et al., 2017; Newman et al., 2017; Zhou and Chen, 2021). It also fosters a positive feedback loop of
improved job performance through enhanced work engagement (Basit, 2017; Kahn, 1990; May et al., 2004; Petrov et al., 2023;
Salanova et al., 2023). This highlights the importance of psychological safety as an organizational resource in developing early career
nursing faculty competencies, but it is not empirically evident.
An individual resource that can enhance competency is a sense of coherence. Sense of coherence is the belief that one’s envi-
ronment is predictable, manageable, and meaningful, and it is strengthened by alignment with shared values and resources at work
(Antonovsky, 1979; Antonovsky, 1989). Sense of coherence enables effective coping with challenges by leveraging general resistance
resources (Antonovsky, 1989; Mittelmark et al., 2022) and is enhanced in work environments that promote trust and cooperation,
leading to improved well-being and the competence of nurse educators (Broetje et al., 2020; Feldt et al., 2004; Tabata and Togari,
2022). A higher sense of coherence is strongly correlated with better job performance, managing multifaced roles, and overall
competency, particularly among nursing faculty (Harri, 1998; Hlad
′
o et al., 2022). It also promotes work engagement, which, when
combined with psychological safety, further enhances the competence of nurse educator (Derbis and Jasi´
nski, 2018; Gonz´
alez-Siles
et al., 2022; Malagon-Aguilera et al., 2019; Vogt et al., 2016). The above are still theoretical hypotheses and thus require empirical
verication.
Based on these insights, this study focuses on the interaction between organizational and individual resources in enhancing the
competence of nurse educator among early career nursing faculty. The following hypotheses are proposed:
H1: Psychological safety positively inuences the competence of nurse educator through sense of coherence.
H2: Psychological safety positively inuences the competence of nurse educator through work engagement.
H3: Psychological safety facilitates sense of coherence, and work engagement enhanced by sense of coherence contributes to
increased competency.
This study will provide basic data for the construction of support measures for the competency development of early career nursing
faculty in Japanese nursing colleges.
Materials and methods
Design and participants
A cross-sectional survey was implemented using anonymous, self-administered online questionnaires. Participants were academic
nurse educators employed at nursing universities and members of the Japan Association of Nursing Programs.
We contacted the deans of 286 nursing universities registered with the Japan Association of Nursing Programs in Universities from
April 2022 to request their participation in the survey. Nine universities afliated with the authors’ institutions were excluded as they
chose not to participate. Of the universities contacted, 86 universities responded regarding their consent to participate in the survey,
and access to the online survey system was provided to nursing faculty belonging to those universities. Before responding to the online
survey, participants were asked to indicate their consent to participate in this study. Only those who checked the “I agree” box were
taken to the survey response page. In this study, consent to cooperate in the survey was considered to have been obtained by checking
the “I agree” box and sending the survey response from the online survey system.
Procedures
Data were collected using an online questionnaire, which was distributed to participating universities. There were 2621 academic
nurse educators across 86 nursing universities, and 448 educators completed the survey (response rate of 17.1 %). The inclusion
criteria were early career nursing faculty; that is, academic educational assistants and assistant professors holding a nursing license in
nursing universities in Japan. Of the responses obtained, only data from early career nursing teachers (n =164) were extracted and
analyzed. The survey was conducted from October 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
3

Variables
Psychological safety
Psychological safety in the university where the participants work was assessed using the seven-item Japanese version of the Team
psychological safety scale (Ishii, 2020) originally developed by Edmondson (1999). Examples of items include, “Members of this team
are able to bring up problems and tough ideas,” “It is difcult to ask other members of this team for help,” and “Working with members
of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized.” Responses were rated on a ve-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 =
“strongly disagree” to 5 =“strongly agree.” The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83, indicating good internal consistency.
Sense of coherence
Participants’ sense of coherence was assessed using the 13-item Japanese version of the Sense of Coherence scale (Antonovsky,
1987; Togari and Yamazaki, 2005), which is distributed across three subscales: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness.
Examples of items include, “Do you have the feeling that you are in an unfamiliar situation and don’t know what to do?” “How often do
you have the feeling that there is little meaning in the things you do in your daily life?” and “How often do you have feelings that you
are not sure you can control?” Responses to each item were rated on a seven-point semantic differential scale, with scores ranging from
13 to 91 points. A higher score indicates a higher capacity to overcome difculties. The Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.83,
indicating good internal consistency.
Work engagement
Work engagement was assessed using the Japanese short version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Shimazu et al., 2008). The
scale comprises nine items across three domains: vigor, which refers to high psychological energy and mental resilience at work;
dedication, described as involvement in one’s work and experiencing feelings of enthusiasm, signicance, and challenge; and ab-
sorption, which relates to being totally immersed in and having difculty detaching oneself from work. Examples of items include, “At
my work, I feel bursting with energy,” “I am enthusiastic about my job,” and “I am immersed in my work.” Responses were rated on a
six-point Likert scale ranging from 0 =“never” to 6 =“always.” The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94, indicating excellent internal
consistency.
Competence of nurse educator
The competencies of the nursing faculty were assessed using original questionnaires developed by Satoh et al. (2020). The ques-
tionnaire comprised items based on competence deemed necessary for nursing faculty, as claried by Satoh et al. (2020). Examples of
items include, “Facilitates learning that fosters the integration of teaching on campus and nursing practice in clinical settings,”
“Engages in self-improvement to enhance ethical sensitivity,” “Works on tasks of daily educational activities from a research
perspective,” and “Participates in organizational management proactively.” Participants rated the extent to which each of the 15
competence items applied to them on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 =“not applicable” to 4 =“always true.”
Individual attributes
Participants’ demographic characteristics included sex, age group (in ve-year increments from under 24 years to over 75 years),
years of teaching experience, current academic position, educational level, and main afliation (national, public, or private
university).
Statistical analyses
Data analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 29.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United
States). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze participants’ demographic characteristics, whereas Pearson’s correlation co-
efcients and partial correlation coefcients (controlling years of education, clinical experiment years, university afliation, and
educational background) were used to analyze the relationships between the variables. The PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to
examine the mediating roles of sense of coherence and work engagement on the association between psychological safety and the
competence of nurse educator. PROCESS Model 4 was used to examine the simple mediating effect of a sense of coherence and work
engagement on the relationship between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator (H1 and H2). This method was
used to verify the effect of the independent variable on the mediating variable; assess the effect of the mediating variable on the
dependent variable; and test the indirect effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable through the mediating variable
while directly testing how the independent variable affects the dependent variable.
PROCESS Model 6 was used to examine the serial multiple mediating effects of sense of coherence (rst mediator) and work
engagement (second mediator) on the relationship between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator (H3). Serial
mediation is a technique that models the process by which multiple mediating variables transfer their inuence in a cascading fashion,
allowing the indirect inuence of an independent variable on a dependent variable to be assessed through two mediating variables. In
serial mediation analysis, PROCESS Macro’s Model 6 is used to simultaneously evaluate the following: 1. the inuence of the inde-
pendent variable (psychological safety) on the rst mediation variable (sense of coherence), 2. the inuence of the rst mediation
variable (sense of coherence) on the second mediation variable (work engagement), 3. the inuence of the second mediation variable
(work engagement) on the dependent variable (competence of nurse educator), and furthermore the independent variable (psycho-
logical safety)’s direct effects on the dependent variable (competence of nurse educator) were assessed simultaneously. For both
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
4

PROCESS Model 4 and Model 6, a bootstrap method with 5000 re-samples was used to test statistical robustness by estimating the 95 %
condence interval (CI) for the mediating effect. When 95 % CI did not include zero, the mediating effect was signicant.
Control variables included individual attributes that could inuence the competence of nurse educator. The statistical signicance
level (p-value) for all the analyses was two-tailed, with values below 0.05 considered signicant.
Ethical considerations
This study was approved by the ethics committee of the authors’ afliate institution (ID 34–13) and complied with the re-
quirements stipulated in the Declaration of Helsinki.
RESULTS
Participants’ characteristics
As outlined in Table 1, about 86.0 % (n =141) of the participants were women, and the average years of experience as nursing
faculty was 4.84 (±3.74; range: 0–17). Their primary afliations were with private universities (53.0 %: n =87). Regarding education
level, 71.3 % had a master’s degree (n =117) and 11.0 % had obtained a doctorate (n =18).
Relationship between study variables
The Pearson’s correlation coefcients and the partial correlation coefcients are illustrated in Table 2. Signicant correlations were
observed between the competence of nurse educator, psychological safety, sense of coherence, and work engagement, both when not
controlled for or controlled for by attribute variables.
Mediating roles of sense of coherence and work engagement
Our mediation analysis using PROCESS Model 4 revealed that psychological safety had a signicant positive relationship with sense
of coherence (β =0.740, SE =0.085, p <.001), which was positively related to the competence of nurse educator (β =0.206, SE =
0.050, p <.001; Table 3). However, psychological safety did not have a signicant direct effect on the competence of nurse educator (β
=0.110, SE =0.065, p =.093). This supports Hypothesis 1, indicating that sense of coherence mediates the relationship between
psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator, with an indirect effect of 0.152 (SE =0.045, 95 % CI [0.068–0.245]).
Similarly, there was a positive relationship between psychological safety and work engagement (β =0.685, SE =0.081, p <.001),
and work engagement was signicantly positively related to the competence of nurse educator (β =0.3255, SE =0.049, p <.001).
However, psychological safety had no signicant direct effect on the competence of nurse educator (β =0.040, SE =0.060, p =.5114).
This supports Hypothesis 2, indicating that work engagement mediates the relationship between psychological safety and the
competence of nurse educator with an indirect effect of 0.223 (SE =0.057, 95 % CI [0.123–0.349]).
Table 1
Characteristics related to the teaching backgrounds of the early career nursing faculty (N =164).
Variables n %
Age (years)     
25–29    11 6.7
30–34    33 20.1
35–39    33 20.1
40–44    34 20.7
45–49    32 19.5
50–54    14 8.5
55–59    6 3.7
70–74    1 0.6
Education level     
Junior nursing college or university    29 17.7
Master’s degree    117 71.3
Doctoral degree    18 11
Main component     
National university    24 14.6
Public university    53 32.3
Private university    87 53.0
Mean SD Min Max 
Years of teaching experience 4.84 3.74 0 17 
Note. SD: standard deviation, Min: minimum, Max: maximum.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
5

Table 2
Descriptive statistics and correlation coefcients among psychological safety, sense of coherence, work engagement and competency (N =164).
Pearson’s correlation coefcients Partial correlation coefcients
†)
Psychological safety Sense of coherence Work engagement Psychological safety Sense of coherence Work engagement Median Mean SD Min Max
Psychological safety       29 28.45 8.9 21 84
Sense of coherence .564***   .571***   52 52.15 11.43 7 49
Work engagement .556*** .568*** .558*** .560*** 27 26.78 10.81 1 54
Competency .314*** .458*** .553*** .349*** .438*** .560*** 41 41.29 6.86 19 59
Note. ***p <.001; SD: standard deviation, Min: minimum, Max: maximum.
†)
Control covariates: educational level, main component of university, and years of teaching experience.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
6

Serial multiple mediation analysis
A serial multiple mediation analysis revealed signicant indirect effects of sense of coherence and work engagement on the
relationship between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator. The total effect of the psychological safety and the
competence of nurse educator of nursing faculty was 0.262 (SE =0.056, t =4.66, p <.001, 95 % CI [0.147–0.369]). However, the total
direct effect was not signicant (0.283; SE =0.067, 95 % CI [0.151–0.373]).
The indirect effects operated through three paths: (1) psychological safety → sense of coherence → competence of nurse educator
(estimated effect =0.080), accounting for 29.1 % of total indirect effects; (2) psychological safety → work engagement → competence
of nurse educator (estimated effect =0.124), accounting for 45.0 % of total indirect effects; and (3) psychological safety → sense of
coherence → work engagement → competence of nurse educator (estimated effect =0.072), accounting for 26.0 % of total indirect
effects (Table 4; Fig. 1).
Discussion
The analysis of this study demonstrated that psychological safety indirectly enhanced competency by increasing a sense of
coherence or work engagement, with psychological safety not directly affecting competency. Further, it was revealed that a sense of
coherence, when enhanced by psychological safety, also contributed to the competence of nurse educator by boosting work
engagement.
Sense of coherence as a mediating role of the relationship between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator
Several studies of company employees claim that psychological safety has a direct effect on job performance (Baer and Frese, 2003;
Schaubroeck et al., 2011) and that reduced occurrence of errors and mistakes allows employees to focus on their work, leading to
improved performance (Faraj and Yan, 2009; Mayer and Gavin, 2005). The current results provide new theoretical insights that show
that psychological safety as a psychosocial environmental resource does not directly enhance competency. Rather, it facilitates the
formation and reinforcement of individual intrinsic factors, which subsequently enhance competency.
The nding that a sense of coherence enhanced by psychological safety is positively associated with increased competency suggests
that psychological safety is an important organizational asset for early career nursing faculty and is consistent with previous research
on general workers (Edmondson and Lei, 2014; Frazier et al., 2017; Newman et al., 2017).
Psychological safety fosters an environment of mutual trust and honesty among team members, potentially enhancing a sense of
coherence. While previously observed in corporate settings or healthcare providers (Broetje et al., 2020; Feldt et al., 2004; Tabata and
Table 3
Mediation effects of SOC and work engagement on the relationship between psychological safety and competency (N =164).
B SE t P LLCI ULCI
Psychological safety → SOC → Competency     
Total effect 0.262 0.056 4.664 0.000 0.151 0.373
Direct effect 0.110 0.065 1.688 0.093 −0.019 0.239
Indirect effect 0.152 0.045   0.068 0.245
Psychological safety → Work engagement → Competency    
Total effect 0.262 0.056 4.664 0.000 0.151 0.373
Direct effect 0.040 0.060 0.658 0.511 −0.079 0.158
Indirect effect 0.223 0.057   0.123 0.349
Note. B =unstandardized coefcient; SE =Heteroscedasticity Consistent; SE: Standard Error; SOC: Sense of Coherence; LLCI =95 % lower limit
condence interval; ULCI =95 % upper limit condence interval; Boot =statistics for the indirect effects are the result of the bootstrapping method;
Covariates: Educational level, main component of university, and years of teaching experience.
Table 4
Effects of sense of coherence and work engagement on the relationship between psychological safety and competency; serial multiple mediation
model (N =164).
B SE t P LLCI ULCI
Total effect 0.262 0.056 4.664 0.000 0.151 0.373
Direct effect −0.013 0.064 −0.208 0.836 −0.140 0.113
Boot Effect Boot SE   Boot LLCI Boot ULCI
Total indirect effect 0.276 0.067   0.158 0.419
(1) Psychological safety → Sense of coherence → Competency 0.080 0.037   0.014 0.160
(2) Psychological safety → Work engagement → Competency 0.124 0.043   0.053 0.220
(3) Psychological safety → Sense of coherence → Work engagement → Competency 0.071 0.025   0.029 0.126
Note. B =unstandardized coefcient; SE =Heteroscedasticity Consistent; SE: Standard Error; LLCI =95 % lower limit condence interval; ULCI =95
% upper limit condence interval; Boot =statistics for the indirect effects are the result of the bootstrapping method; Covariates: Educational level,
main component of university, and years of teaching experience.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
7

Togari, 2022), this study pioneers the identication of this relationship in early career nursing faculty, extending our understanding of
the impact of psychological safety across professions. Additionally, psychologically safe workplaces foster inclusive decision-making,
enhancing employees’ sense of coherence (Antonovsky, 1989; Yamazaki et al., 2019). This heightened sense of coherence correlates
with improved job-related skills (Kawamura et al., 2021; Ohta et al., 2015; Strauser and Lustig, 2003), particularly in nursing, in which
it boosts practice skills and problem-solving abilities (Manabe et al., 2012; Takahashi et al., 2011; Tanaka et al., 2012). This study
extends these ndings to early career nursing faculty and suggests that psychological safety is an important organizational resource for
inexperienced nursing faculty that indirectly enhances the competence of nurse educator through an enhanced sense of coherence.
Work engagement as a mediating role of the relationship between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator
Our study also demonstrated that psychological safety enhances work engagement and is positively related to competency among
early career nursing faculty, aligns with Kahn’s (1990) research on general workers. According to the job demands–resources theory,
workplace psychosocial resources enhance work engagement, leading to improved job performance (Bakker and Schaufeli, 2008;
Bakker et al., 2023; Han et al., 2021). Studies have further demonstrated that higher levels of work engagement enhance practical skills
and nursing practice competence (Ghazawy et al., 2021; Keyko et al., 2016). This nding supports the theoretical and empirical
evidence that work engagement mediates the relationship between workplace psychosocial resources and job performance. Moreover,
based on the theory that positive emotions, as represented by work engagement, broaden individuals’ perspectives, interests, and
behaviors and increase their personal resources (e.g., skills and abilities), thereby promoting personal growth (Fredrickson, 2001;
Salanova et al., 2010), increasing work engagement can lead to positive and motivated personal work engagement, which is proposed
to foster work competence. Therefore, maintaining positive and proactive attitudes toward one’s job among inexperienced nursing
faculty can nurture work competence.
Implications of this study
This study also indicated that even for nurse educators in the early stages of their careers, psychological safety enhances a sense of
coherence; provides coping skills to coordinate and manage the multifaceted role required of educators; and has a cascading effect that
leads to positive attitudes toward work, positive engagement, enthusiasm, and increased competence. In sum, even without investing a
great deal of cost, effort, and human resources to set up a special faculty development program or mentoring system, preparing an
organization with a high level of psychological safety could foster the skills of early career nursing faculty. For example, as presented in
the scale items (Edmondson, 1999), it is essential to foster an organizational climate that allows early-career nursing faculty to easily
seek advice when faced with insurmountable challenges. Additionally, it is also imperative to foster a group climate where early career
nursing faculty’ circumstances are respected and problems are solved collaboratively through constructive dialogue, rather than
through criticism or blame. Further, the current ndings partially support the conclusions and theoretical frameworks of previous
research. Specically, a supportive work climate cyclically enhances their engagement, motivation, and competency development
(Tanaka, 2018). Resource expansion theory posits that organizational resources boost employees’ job performance and enthusiasm,
which broadens their perspectives, interests, and cognitive processes. These positive behaviors promote individual growth by
enhancing skills and competencies (Fredrickson, 2001).
Limitations
Despite its important implications for developing the competence of nurse educator among early career nursing faculties, our study
has certain limitations. First, although we revealed a serial multiple mediation model among psychological safety, sense of coherence,
work engagement, and the competence of nurse educator, the data were based on a cross-sectional analysis. Further research is needed
to validate whether these results can be theoretically and empirically substantiated, and to ascertain their reproducibility. Future
longitudinal studies should address the fact that this study did not indicate a causal relationship between these variables.
Fig. 1. Path coefcients of the serial multiple mediation model.
Note. (): standard error in parentheses; Solid line: signicant; Dotted line: non-signicant; Education level, main component of university, and years
of teaching experience were covariates in the model; *p < .05, ***p < .001.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
8

Second, our study used only self-reported questionnaires, which introduces a potential for social desirability bias. Educators often
rate their own competence of nurse educator more positively compared to assessments by students or mentors (Salminen et al., 2013).
To mitigate this bias, future studies should incorporate objective evaluations alongside self-assessments.
Third, the years of teaching experience as nursing faculty ranged from 0 to 17 years. Despite having teaching experience, early
career nursing faculty cannot be promoted unless they meet specic criteria, such as obtaining a degree, research achievements,
number of publications, and fullling university roles. Consequently, even those in the most junior positions, such as early career
nursing faculty, may have many years of experience. Future studies must explore factors related to competency improvement,
considering position and the quantity and quality of teaching experience. Finally, the desired sample size for this study was calculated
to be n =108 with a signicance level of 0.05, a power level of 0.8, and an effect size of f square 0.15, using G*Power 3.1.9.7 (Faul
et al., 2007, 2009). Later, the statistical power was 0.94 based on the actual number of analyzed data (n =164), with a signicance
level of 0.05 and an effect size of f square 0.15. However, since the response rate for this study was 17.1 %, it is possible that only those
with a strong interest in the content of this study responded to the questionnaire, and caution should be exercised in interpreting the
results. The current results indicate that the response rate for past Internet surveys conducted in Japan targeting nursing teachers
ranged from 14 % to 25 %, while the response rate for Internet surveys targeting non-nursing faculty was only around 20 % (Chitose,
2020; Yoshimura, 2020). In considering research results that better reect the actual situation, future studies must devise more
suitable research methods, including data collection.
Conclusions
The mediation analysis of this research revealed that sense of coherence and work engagement indirectly mediated the relationship
between psychological safety and the competence of nurse educator among early career nursing faculty in Japanese universities.
Further, a serial multiple mediation model demonstrated that psychological safety indirectly inuenced the competence of nurse
educator through sense of coherence and work engagement. On the other hand, psychological safety did not have a signicant direct
effect on the competence of nurse educator among early career nursing faculty in Japan.
Ethics approval
Ethical approval was obtained from the Tokyo Healthcare university Academic Ethics Committee (ID 34–13).
Data availability
Data cannot be shared based on the condential agreement between the study participants and research team based on our protocol
approved by the Institutional Review Board of our university.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Miho Satoh: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation, Software, Resources, Project admin-
istration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Naoko Sato: Super-
vision, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Noriko Tamura: Methodology, Investigation,
Conceptualization. Akiko Fujimura: Supervision, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation,
Conceptualization.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing nancial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
inuence the work reported in this paper.
Funding
This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientic Research (C) (grant number 2121K10631).
Acknowledgments
We are extremely grateful to the participants of this study who cooperated in data collection.
References
Antonovsky, A., 1987. Unraveling the Mystery of health: How people Manage Stress and Stay Well. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Ayala Calvo, J.C., García, G.M., 2018. Hardiness as moderator of the relationship between structural and psychological empowerment on burnout in middle managers.
J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 91 (2), 362–384. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12194.
Baer, M., Frese, M., 2003. Innovation is not enough: climates for initiative and psychological safety, process innovations, and rm performance. J. Organ. Behav. 24
(1), 45–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.179.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
9

Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E., Sanz-Vergel, A., 2023. Job demands-resources theory: ten years later. Annu. Rev.Org. Psychol. Org. Behav. 10 (1), 25–53. https://doi.
org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-053933.
Bakker, A.B., Hakanen, J.J., Demerouti, E., Xanthopoulou, D., 2007. Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high. J. Educ. Psychol.
99 (2), 274–284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.2.274.
Bakker, A.B., Schaufeli, W.B., 2008. Positive organizational behavior: engaged employees in ourishing organizations. J. Organ. Behav. 29 (2), 147–154. https://doi.
org/10.1002/job.515.
Basit, A.A., 2017. Trust in supervisor and job engagement: mediating effects of psychological safety and felt obligation. J. Psychol. 151 (8), 701–721. https://doi.org/
10.1080/00223980.2017.1372350.
Broetje, S., Bauer, G.F., Jenny, G.J., 2020. The relationship between resourceful working conditions, work-related and general sense of coherence. Health Promot. Int.
35 (5), 1168–1179. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz112.
Brown, T., Sorrell, J., 2017. Challenges of novice nurse educator’s transition from practice to classroom. Teach.Learn. Nurs. 12 (3), 207–211. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.teln.2017.03.002.
Carmeli, A., Gittell, J.H., 2009. High-quality relationships, psychological safety, and learning from failures in work organizations. J. Organ. Behav. 30 (6), 709–729.
https://doi.org/10.1002/job.565.
Chitose, Y., 2020. A comparison of response rate, respondent prole, and item nonresponse between survey modes: an assessment from SOGI survey based on a
random selection from basic resident registration. J. Popul. Probl. 76 (4), 467–487 in Japanese.
Collins, C.J., Smith, K.G., 2006. Knowledge exchange and combination: the role of human resource practices in the performance of high-technology rms. Acad.
Manage. J. 49 (3), 544–560. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2006.21794671.
Compagnucci, L., Spigarelli, F., 2020. The third mission of the university: a systematic literature review on potentials and constraints. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change
161, 120284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120284.
Czabanowska, K., Kuhlmann, E., 2021. Public health competences through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic: what matters for health workforce preparedness for
global health emergencies. Int. J. Health Plann. Manage. 36 (S 1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3131.
Derbis, R., Jasi´
nski, A.M., 2018. Work satisfaction, psychological resiliency and sense of coherence as correlates of work engagement. Cogent. Psychol. 5 (1), 1451610.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2018.1451610.
Doi, Y., Hosoda, Y., Hoshi, K., 2012. The learning needs and related factors of nursing college junior faculty. J. School of Nurs. Osaka Prefecture Univ. 18 (1), 33–44 in
Japanese.
Edmondson, A., 1999. Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Adm. Sci. Q. 44 (2), 350–383.
Edmondson, A.C., Lei, Z., 2014. Psychological safety: the history, renaissance, and future of an interpersonal construct. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology
and Organizational Behavior 1 (1), 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091305.
Faraj, S., Yan, A., 2009. Boundary work in knowledge teams. J. Appl. Psychol. 94 (3), 604–617. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014367.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., Lang, A.G., 2009. Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behav. Res. Methods
41 (4), 1149–1160.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.G., Buchner, A, 2007. G*Power 3: a exible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences.
Behav. Res. Methods 39 (2), 175–191.
Feldt, T., Kivim¨
aki, M., Rantala, A., Tolvanen, A., 2004. Sense of coherence and work characteristics: a cross-lagged structural equation model among managers.
J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 77 (3), 323–342. https://doi.org/10.1348/0963179041752655.
Fernandez, N., Dory, V., Ste-Marie, L.G., Chaput, M., Charlin, B., Boucher, A., 2012. Varying conceptions of competence: an analysis of how health sciences educators
dene competence. Med. Educ. 46 (4), 357–365. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.04183.x.
Frazier, M.L., Fainshmidt, S., Klinger, R.L., Pezeshkan, A., Vracheva, V., 2017. Psychological safety: a meta-analytic review and extension. Pers. Psychol. 70 (1),
113–165.
Fredrickson, B.L., 2001. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Am. Psychol. 56 (3), 218–226.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.56.3.218.
Garner, A., Bedford, L., 2021. Reecting on educational preparedness and professional development for early-career nurse faculty: A phenomenological study. Nurse
Educ. Pract. 53, 103052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103052.
Ghazawy, E.R., Mahfouz, E.M., Mohammed, E.S., Refaei, S.A., 2021. Nurses’ work engagement and its impact on the job outcomes. Int. J. Healthc. Manage. 14 (2),
320–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2019.1644725.
Gong, Y., Cheung, S.-Y., Wang, M., Huang, J.-C., 2012. Unfolding the proactive process for creativity: Integration of the employee proactivity, information exchange,
and psychological safety perspectives. J. Manage. 38 (5), 1611–1633. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310380250.
Gonz´
alez-Siles, P., Martí-Vilar, M., Gonz´
alez-Sala, F., Merino-Soto, C., Toledano-Toledano, F., 2022. Sense of coherence and work stress or well-being in care
professionals: A systematic review. Healthcare 10 (7), 1347. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10071347.
Groth, S.M., Duncan, R., Lassiter, J., Madler, B.J., 2023. Onboarding orientation for novice nurse faculty: a quality improvement pilot project. Teach. Learn. Nurs. 18
(1), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2022.07.010.
Han, S.-H., Sung, M., Suh, B., 2021. Linking meaningfulness to work outcomes through job characteristics and work engagement. Human Resour. Deve. Int. 24 (1),
3–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1744999.
Harri, M., 1998. The sense of coherence among nurse educators in Finland. Nurse Educ. Today 18 (3), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0260-6917(98)80080-4.
Hobfoll, S.E., 1989. Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. Am. Psychol. 44 (3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-
066x.44.3.513.
Ishii, R., 2020. Cultivating team psychological safety. JMA Management Center, Tokyo in Japanese.
Kahn, W.A., 1990. Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Acad. Manage. J. 33 (4), 692–724. https://doi.org/10.2307/256287.
Kalensky, M., Hande, K., 2017. Transition from expert clinician to novice faculty: a blueprint for success. J. Nurse Practit. 13 (9), e433–e439. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.nurpra.2017.06.005.
Kameoka, T., Funashima, N., Nomoto, Y., Murakami, M., Suzuki, M., 2008. Problems that nursing faculty who were members of faculty development committee of
BSN or ADN programs encounter. J. Jpn. Soc. Nurs. Res. 31 (5), 57–62 in Japanese.
Kawamura, K., Shimada, A., Morioka, I., 2021. Relationship between work improvement and work engagement in nancial industry: examination based on the level
of sense of coherence. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi 76, 21005. https://doi.org/10.1265/jjh.21005 in Japanese.
Keyko, K., Cummings, G.G., Yonge, O., Wong, C.A., 2016. Work engagement in professional nursing practice: a systematic review. Int. J. Nurs. Stud. 61, 142–164.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2016.06.003.
Lahtinen, P., Leino-Kilpi, H., Salminen, L., 2014. Nursing education in the European higher education area - Variations in implementation. Nurse Educ. Today 34 (6),
1040–1047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2013.09.011.
Malagon-Aguilera, M.C., Su˜
ner-Soler, R., Bonmatí-Tomas, A., Bosch-Farr´
e, C., Gelabert-Vilella, S., Juviny`
a-Canal, D., 2019. Relationship between sense of coherence,
health and work engagement among nurses. J. Nurs. Manage 27 (8), 1620–1630. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12848.
Manabe, E., Komatsu, M., Izumi, M., Kuragaichi, E., Hashimoto, H., Kitajima, K., Okayama, Y., 2012. Correlation between sense of coherence and satisfaction and
work environment and nursing clinical skills among nurses at university hospitals. J. Int. Nurs. Res. 35 (2), 19–25 in Japanese.
Malik, P., Garg, P., 2020. Learning organization and work engagement: the mediating role of employee resilience. Int. J. Human Resour. Manage. 31 (8), 1071–1094.
May, D.R., Gilson, R.L., Harter, L.M., 2004. The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work.
J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 77 (1), 11–37. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317904322915892.
Mayer, R.C., Gavin, M.B., 2005. Trust in management and performance: who minds the shop while the employees watch the boss? Acad. Manage. J. 48 (5), 874–888.
https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.18803928.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
10

McDermid, F., Peters, K., Daly, J., Jackson, D., 2013. I thought I was just going to teach’: stories of new nurse academics on transitioning from sessional teaching to
continuing academic positions. Contemp. Nurse 45 (1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.2013.45.1.46.
Mikkonen, K., Ojala, T., Sj¨
ogren, T., Piirainen, A., Koskinen, C., Koskinen, M., Koivula, M., Sormunen, M., Saaranen, T., Salminen, L., Koskim¨
aki, M., Ruotsalainen, H.,
L¨
ahteenm¨
aki, M.L., Wallin, O., M¨
aki-Hakola, H., K¨
a¨
ari¨
ainen, M., 2018. Competence areas of health science teachers - A systematic review of quantitative studies.
Nurse Educ. Today 70, 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2018.08.017.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. (2021). University establishment standards. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/
koutou/053/gijiroku/__icsFiles/aeldle/2012/10/30/1325943_02_3_1.pdf (accessed 2024/02/25).
Mittelmark, M.B., Eriksson, M., Sagy, S., Pelikan, J.M., Vaandrager, L., Magistretti, C.M., Lindstr¨
om, B., Bauer, G.F., 2022. Salutogenesis for thriving societies. The
Handbook of Salutogenesis. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 635–638.
Newman, A., Donohue, R., Eva, N., 2017. sychological safety: a systematic review of the literature. Human Resour. Manage. Rev. 27 (3), 521–535. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.01.001.
Nowell, L., Norri, J.M., Mrklas, K., White, D.E., 2017. A literature review of mentorship programs in academic nursing. J. Prof. Nurs. 33, 334–344. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.02.007.
Ohta, M., Higuchi, Y., Kumashiro, M., Yamato, H., Sugimura, H., 2015. Work improvement factors for the amelioration of work ability, with a focus on individual
capacity to deal with stress in an IT company. J. UOEH 37 (1), 23–32 in Japanese.
Oki, H., 2019. Current issues of faculty development in higher education in Japan. Nagoya J. Higher Edu. 19, 17–32 in Japanese.
Oyamada, K., Nozaki, M., Nakahara, R., 2022. Development of a professional development tool for new assistant professors in nursing colleges. J. Japan Acad. Nurs.
Edu. 32 (2), 137–150 in Japanese.
Petrov, S., Oprea, B., Opariuc-Dan, C., 2023. Psychological safety and job performance: the mediating role of work engagement and job crafting. Psihologia Resurselor
Umane 21 (2), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.24837/pru.v21i2.536.
Ryht¨
a, I., Elonen, I., Saaranen, T., Sormunen, M., Mikkonen, K., K¨
a¨
ari¨
ainen, M., Koskinen, C., Koskinen, M., Koivula, M., Koskim¨
aki, M., L¨
ahteenm¨
aki, M.L.,
Wallin, O., Sj¨
ogren, T., Salminen, L., 2020. Social and health care educators’ perceptions of competence in digital pedagogy: a qualitative descriptive study. Nurse
Educ. Today 92, 104521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104521.
Salanova, M., Schaufeli, W.B., Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A.B., 2010. The gain spiral of resources and work engagement: sustaining a positive worklife. In: Bakker, A.
B., Leiter, M.P. (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of Essential Theory and Research. Psychology Press, pp. 118–131.
Salminen, L., Minna, S., Sanna, K., Jouko, K., Helena, L.K., 2013. The competence and the cooperation of nurse educators. Nurse Educ. Today 33 (11), 1376–1381.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2012.09.008.
Salminen, L., Stolt, M., Saarikoski, M., Suikkala, A., Vaartio, H., Leino-Kilpi, H., 2010. Future challenges for nursing education–A European perspective. Nurse Educ.
Today 30 (3), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2009.11.004.
Salminen, L., Tuukkanen, M., Clever, K., Fuster, P., Kelly, M., Kiel´
e, V., Koskinen, S., Sveinsd´
ottir, H., L¨
oyttyniemi, E., Leino-Kilpi, H., PROCOMP Nurse-Consortium,
2021. The competence of nurse educators and graduating nurse students. Nurse Educ. Today 98, 104769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104769.
Satoh, M., Fujimura, A., Sato, N., 2020. Competency of academic nurse educators. SAGe Open. Nurs. 6. https://doi.org/10.1177/2377960820969389,
2377960820969389.
Schaubroeck, J., Lam, S.S.K., Peng, A.C., 2011. Cognition-based and affect-based trust as mediators of leader behavior inuences on team performance. J. Appl.
Psychol. 96 (4), 863–871. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022625.
Schaufeli, W.B., Bakker, A.B., 2004. Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study. J. Organ. Behav. 25 (3),
293–315. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.248.
Shimazu, A., Schaufeli, W.B., Kosugi, S., Suzuki, A., Nashiwa, H., Kato, A., Sakamoto, M., Irimajiri, H., Amano, S., Hirohata, K., Goto, R., Kitaoka-Higashiguchi, K.,
2008. Work engagement in Japan: validation of the Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Appl. Psychol. 57 (3), 510–523. https://doi.org/
10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00333.x.
Siemsen, E., Roth, A.V., Balasubramanian, S., Anand, G., 2009. The inuence of psychological safety and condence in knowledge on employee knowledge sharing.
Manuf.Serv. Oper. Manage. 11 (3), 429–447. https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.1080.0233.
Smith, J., Kean, S., Vauhkonen, A., Elonen, I., Silva, S.C., Pajari, J., Cassar, M., Martín-Delgado, L., Zrubcova, D., Salminen, L., 2023. An integrative review of the
continuing professional development needs for nurse educators. Nurse Educ. Today 121, 105695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105695.
Strauser, D.R., Lustig, D.C., 2003. The moderating effect of sense of coherence on work adjustment. J. Employ. Couns. 40 (3), 129–140. https://doi.org/10.1002/
j.2161-1920.2003.tb00863.x.
Suzuki, Y., Kaneko, J., Irie, H., Morikawa, N., Matsumoto, M., Hayashi, K., Onozaki, M., 2019. Research trend on faculty of nursing university—Problems of nursing
teachers as seen in study purpose. J. Int. Univ. Health Welfare 24 (2), 61–72 in Japanese.
Tabata, M., Togari, T., 2022. The link between factorial invariance and sense of coherence associated with the degree of favorability of the organizational climate at
geriatric health services facilities: simultaneous multiple group analysis of care workers and nurses using a cross-sectional survey. J. Japan Soc.Healthcare Admin.
59 (3), 99–109 in Japanese.
Takahashi, Y., Motoe, A., Furuichi, K., 2011. Relationship between life skills and sense of coherence in clinical nurses. The Jpn. J. Health Sci. Res. 15 (1), 71–76 in
Japanese.
Tanaka, C., 2018. Novice nursing teachers’ essential experiences in developing their abilities. Jpn. J. Medi. Nurs. Edu. 27 (2), 21–28 in Japanese.
Tanaka, I., Higa, H., Yamada, K., 2012. Comparison of clinical nursing competence based on attributes of nurses, and relationship between number of working years,
sense of coherence, and spirituality. J. Nurs. Soc. Univ. Toyama 12 (2), 81–92 in Japanese.
Togari, T., Yamazaki, Y., 2005. Examination of the reliability and factor validity of 13-item ve-point version sense of coherence scale. Jpn. J. Health Human Ecol. 71
(4), 168–182 in Japanese.
Vogt, K., Hakanen, J.J., Jenny, G.J., Bauer, G.F., 2016. Sense of coherence and the motivational process of the job-demands-resources model. J. Occup. Health
Psychol. 21 (2), 194–207. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039899.
Weidman, N.A., 2013. The lived experience of the transition of the clinical nurse expert to the novice nurse educator. Teach. Learn. Nurs. 8 (3), 102–109. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.teln.2013.04.006.
World Health Organization (2017). Nurse educator core competencies. Gen`
eve, Switzerland.
Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E., Schaufeli, W.B., 2009. Reciprocal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement.
J. Vocat. Behav. 74 (3), 235–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.11.003.
Yamazaki, Y., Togari, T., Sakano, J., 2019. Introduction to the sense of coherence in the salutogenic model. Yushindo-Kobunsya, Tokyo in Japanese.
Yoshimura, H., 2020. Why are web survey results biased? Findings from two experimental web surveys. Jpn. Sociol. Rev. 71 (1), 65–83 in Japanese.
Zhou, H., Chen, J., 2021. How does psychological empowerment prevent emotional exhaustion? Psychological safety and organizational embeddedness as mediators.
Front. Psychol. 12, 546687. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.546687.
Zlatanovic, T., Havnes, A., Mausethagen, S., 2017. A research review of nurse teachers’ competencies. Vocat. Learn. 10 (2), 201–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s12186-016-9169-0.
M. Satoh et al.
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 7 (2024) 100254
11