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Why do nurses at a university hospital want to quit their jobs?
Author(s) -
GARDULF ANN,
SÖDERSTRÖM INGALENA,
ORTON MARIELOUISE,
ERIKSSON LARS E.,
ARNETZ BENGT,
NORDSTRÖM GUN
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2934.2005.00537.x
Subject(s) - salary , competence (human resources) , nursing , nursing management , medicine , university hospital , psychology , job satisfaction , family medicine , social psychology , political science , law
The aim of the study was to investigate to what extent the registered nurses at a university hospital intend to quit their present jobs and the reasons for this. A total of 833 nurses at a university hospital responded to two mailed, work‐environment questionnaires (Quality Work Competence and Huddinge University Hospital Model Questionnaire). About 54% ( n = 449) intended to quit and 35% ( n = 155) had already taken steps to do so. Main reasons were dissatisfaction with the salary (65%), psychologically strenuous and stressful work (32%), a wish to ‘try something new’ (28%) and limited opportunities to make a professional career (19%). Nurses who intended to quit (‘quitters’) rated a higher work tempo ( P < 0.001), experienced an increased work‐related exhaustion ( P < 0.001) and a lower quality of patient care ( P < 0.01). They also perceived to a lower degree that their competence was made good use of ( P < 0.001) and that they had fewer opportunities of developing their own competence ( P < 0.001) and making a professional career. They were less satisfied with the support from their superiors for participating in nursing research and developing projects ( P < 0.001). Finally, the ‘quitters’ knew to a significantly lesser extent ( P < 0.001) why they had the actual salary they had, what the salary was based on and what to do to improve it. However, it was found that the hospital still had a ‘core group’ of highly motivated and dedicated nurses with an unusually high amount of mental energy left. All findings regarding the ‘quitters’ are factors amenable to interventions.