Selected predictors of registered nurses' intent to stay

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Organizational Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Registered nurses' intent to stay (ITS) is crucial for healthcare stability.
• Factors influencing ITS require ongoing investigation to improve nurse retention.
• Autonomy, willingness to risk, exit/voice (E/V), and managerial environment (ME) are potential predictors of ITS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive relationships of autonomy, willingness to risk, E/V, and ME on registered nurses' ITS.
• To analyze these relationships in a longitudinal study across eight Midwestern hospitals.
• To identify actionable factors for improving nurse retention.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study involving 524 staff nurses.
• Two logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess predictive relationships.
• Independent variables included autonomy, willingness to risk, E/V, and ME; the dependent variable was ITS.

Main Results:

• In the first analysis (neutral ITS grouped with no intent to stay), both ME and E/V were significant predictors of ITS.
• In the second analysis (neutral ITS grouped with intent to stay), only ME remained a significant predictor of ITS.
• The identified variables are amenable to managerial interventions, despite explaining a lower percentage of variance compared to some previous research.

Conclusions:

• Managerial environment and exit/voice are key factors influencing registered nurses' intent to stay.
• Managerial interventions targeting the work environment can potentially improve nurse retention.
• Further research should explore the nuances of these predictors in different healthcare settings.