Predictors of nursing staff turnover

Nursing turnover is of great concern to patients, management and the profession, and numerous studies have been conducted to increase understanding about this phenomenon. Most of these, however, have focused on staff nurses in the public sector; little is known about nurse manager turnover or the characteristics of nurses leaving the private hospital sector. The purpose of this study was to examine turnover of staff nurses and nurse managers in both the public and private hospital sectors. Variables which appeared to have a consistent relationship with nurse turnover were identified from the literature, and multiple regression methods were used to attempt to identify variables which could be used to predict turnover behaviour of staff nurses and nurse managers. This study encountered methodological difficulties similar to those which have plagued previous studies; nevertheless, a clearer picture of nursing turnover is emerging.