Premium
Early career experiences and perceptions – a qualitative exploration of the turnover of young registered nurses and intention to leave the nursing profession in F inland
Author(s) -
Flinkman Mervi,
Salanterä Sanna
Publication year - 2015
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/jonm.12251
Subject(s) - nursing , perception , nursing management , qualitative research , medicine , psychology , social science , neuroscience , sociology
Aim To describe why young registered nurses ( RN s) had previously left an organisation and why they intend to leave the profession. Background Currently, many young registered nurses, including those in Finland, are considering leaving their job or have an intention to leave the profession. Design An in‐depth, descriptive approach was adopted. Method Data were collected in 2012 from interviews with 15 registered nurses (under the age of 30 years). The interviews were semi‐structured and analysed using conventional content analysis. The main questions addressed were: ‘Why had the young registered nurses left their previous organisation?’ and ‘Why do young registered nurses have an intention to leave the profession?’ Results The findings centre on three themes: poor nursing practice environments; lack of support, orientation and mentoring, and nursing as a ‘second best’ or serendipitous career choice. Conclusions The first years of nursing are particularly stressful for newly‐graduated and inexperienced registered nurses. An in‐depth, qualitative approach reveals more complex reasons behind the turnover of registered nurses and intention to leave the profession than questionnaire surveys. Implications for nursing management Young registered nurses need social support from nurse managers and experienced colleagues to successfully transition into nursing practice environments. Adequate orientation and mentoring programmes are needed to facilitate this transition.