Review of Research on Organizational Culture in Health Care System

Introduction. Organizational culture is an ambiguous concept, it reflects norms and values considered important in a given society. It is subject to the influence of internal and external factors, as well as its technical and organizational solutions. It is considered a significant factor in the organization’s success and sets the direction of most of its members’ activities. Aim. The aim of the work was to present a review of research on organizational culture in the health care system based on the literature. Methods. The article is in the form of an unsystematic review. The medical databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar have been reviewed (from January 1963 to January 2017). Results. The concept of organizational culture in the management literature for the first time was defined in the 1950s. The subject of research on organizational culture in the health care system and subsystem of nursing was mainly dealt with in North America and Western Europe. In Poland, the study of organizational culture in the nursing sector was analyzed in relation to the mental burden of nurses. The review of the literature shows that organizational culture affects many elements of the professional work of nurses, such as; efficiency, quality, mental stress, burnout, the occurrence of work-related diseases, and also is associated with satisfaction with care and a sense of security.