Prevalence and Characteristics of Hospital Nurse Leaders' Turnover Intention

This project aims to identify the prevalence of acute care nurse leader turnover intention and the contributing factors.

Previous research has identified that nurse leaders often quit around 1 year after stepping into a leadership position. More in-depth investigations of the phenomenon are needed.

The 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses data were used in this quantitative, cross-sectional study. The sample of nurse leaders was drawn from survey participants. Characteristics of interest in this study were listed in the survey questionnaire and divided into 5 categories: education, primary nursing employment, race, marital status, and age.

A total of 50 273 participants completed the survey. The final sample size of nurse leaders was 1310 based on the eligibility criteria. The characteristics of the nurse leaders with turnover intention were reported in the 5 previously identified categories. Age, federally assisted student loans, and hours worked in a typical week predicted turnover intention. Low dissatisfaction and ability to practice to the full extent of knowledge, education, and training were strongly associated with nurse leader turnover intention.

The study findings contribute to a more in-depth discovery of the causes of nurse leader turnover and future interventional research.