Comparison of Reasons for Nurse Turnover in Magnet® and Non-Magnet Hospitals

The aim of this study is to compare rates and reasons for registered nurse (RN) turnover by Magnet® status.

Although lower RN turnover rates in Magnet hospitals have been documented well in the literature, little is known about specific separation reasons for RN turnover and whether the reasons differ between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals.

This descriptive, correlational study analyzed unit-level 2013 National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® turnover data (2,958 units; 497 hospitals). Poisson regression and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test were used.

Registered nurse turnover due to environment-related reasons was higher on units in non-Magnet hospitals than units in Magnet hospitals. Units in non-Magnet hospitals had 4.684 times higher turnover rates due to staffing/workload and 1.439 times higher rates due to work schedules than did units in Magnet hospitals.

Nursing administrators in both Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals need to continually strive to improve unit work environments, particularly staffing and workload conditions and work scheduling.