Staff turnover among hospital nurses

Abstract

Nursing staff turnover remains a financial concern to public as well as private institutions, and it has an impact on staff morale and working practices. Evidence suggests that staff turnover could also have a detrimental effect on patient care. Numerous studies have examined the reasons why staff leave their jobs, but these have often produced conflicting findings and have frequently relied upon bivariate correlation or multiple regression techniques. The availability of analytical techniques such as structural modelling provides an opportunity to examine several aspects of turnover behaviour simultaneously, and overcome some of the methodological difficulties encountered by prior research. This study involved 221 female nurses working full-time in hospitals to examine aspects of the nursing turnover model. Using modelling techniques, this current study found job satisfaction and participation at work to be important variables in the turnover process. This is in keeping with other models of nursing turnover.