Why newly graduated nurses in South Korea leave their first job in a short time? A survival analysis

South Korea is one of the countries with a very low percentage of active nurses among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Although the number of nurses has increased steadily, the number of active nurses has not increased more than expected due to continued turnover.

This study used data of a longitudinal panel of Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS) and performed survival analysis to determine the turnover rate of nurses and the average time of turnover.

The turnover rate was the highest at 25% within first year and 50% of nurses left their first job during the study period. The hospital size and salary levels were major factors that affected the turnover rate, with small-scale hospitals and extremely low salary levels having the highest turnover. Dissatisfaction with the organization and dissatisfaction with the profession also directly impacted job turnover. Turnover rate of male nurses was higher than that of female nurses.

Turnover of newly graduated nurses is highly inefficient personnel management. A strategy for reducing the turnover is needed.