Exploring the Factors behind Nurses’ Decision to Leave Clinical Practice: Revealing Causes for Leaving and Approaches for Enhanced Retention

Abstract

Nursing turnover has emerged as an urgent concern with a substantial influence on the financial efficiency and quality of care in healthcare frameworks worldwide. This study determined important factors associated with nurses’ intentions to leave and what would bring them back. This was a cross-sectional, multisite study of nurses in three public hospitals. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 205 nurses from the selected hospitals. A questionnaire was used to measure demographic and professional background information, current job satisfaction, and the intention to leave work and return. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were run using SPSS. This study revealed that both job satisfaction (M = 47.26, SD = 11.59, range: 19–76) and intent to leave a current job (M = 14.18, SD = 4.36, range: 4–20) were reported at moderate levels. There were significant differences reported between the scores of nationality and job satisfaction (p < 0.05) and between the means of income level and intention to leave (p < 0.05). There was also a significant, negative association between satisfaction and intention to leave (r = −0.551, p < 0.05). In regression, income level (β = 0.159, p = 0.021), incentives (β = 0.186, p = 0.002), hospital type (β = 0.189, p = 0.005), and intention to leave (β = −0.454, p < 0.001) significantly influenced satisfaction. Gender (β = −0.122, p = 0.037) and nationality (β = −0.210, p = 0.007) were found to influence the intention to leave among participants significantly. In conclusion, this study indicated that job satisfaction and intention to leave are important factors affecting nurses’ enthusiasm. Incentives also had a positive impact on increasing nurses’ satisfaction levels. Future research studies should investigate what factors might lead to improved monthly salaries and provide more incentives among nurses.