Abstract
Objective : The objective of this study was to survey the job-related empowerment and job satisfaction of 119 emergency medical technicians provide emergency patients with first aid, to examine the correlation between their empowerment and job satisfaction, and to provide basic materials for developing programs to enhance 119 emergency medical technicians' empowerment and job satisfaction. Methods : The survey was conducted with 249 119 emergency medical technicians working at fire stations in an area of Gyeonggi-do during the period from June 26 to August 21, 2009. Using SPSS 14.0 program, we obtained frequencies percentages, means, and standard deviations, and performed independent two sample t-test, one way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analysis, and Cronbach's ${\alpha}$. Results : 1) The mean score of the subjects' empowerment was 3.32, and that of their job satisfaction was 2.94. 2) As to difference according to general characteristics, no statistically significant difference was observed in empowerment but job satisfaction was statistically significantly different according to gender(t = 2.296, p = .023). 3) As to difference according to job related characteristics, empowerment was significantly different according to license type(F = 3.767, p = .011), and job satisfaction was statistically significantly different according to position(t = 3.222, p = .042), fire fighting experience(t = 2.689, p = .035), and first aid experience(t = 3.991, p = .007). 4) Empowerment was in a positive correlation with job satisfaction(r = .502, p = .000) in general, and by the sub areas of job satisfaction, the correlation with empowerment was high in order of job itself(r = .695, p = .000), interaction area(r = .493, p = .000), organizational demand area(r = .328, p = .000), working condition area(r = .153, p = .015), and wage area(r = .137, p = .031). By the sub areas of empowerment, the correlation with job satisfaction was high in order of significance(r = .424, p = .000), influence(r = .397, p = .000), competence(r = .372, p = .000), and self determination(r = .259, p = .000). Conclusion : The 119 emergency medical technicians' empowerment was in a high correlation with their job satisfaction, and had a strong effect on it. This suggests that 119 emergency medical technicians' job performance can be enhanced by improving their empowerment. These results are expected to be useful in making human resource management plans to enhance 119 emergency medical technicians' job satisfaction by empowering them.