Towards an understanding of clinical nurses challenges that leads intention to leave

Clinical nursing is the most important feature of the nursing profession and similar to the global community. The study objective was to identify and describe the challenges and why Iranian nurses leave their profession. Qualitative methods were applied to describe nursing practice challenges through in-depth and semi-structured interview of 16 Iranian nurses with 2 to 15 years of work experience in 2014 by asking: "Please tell me about your challenges at work and why nurses are leaving the nursing profession?" Obtained data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Analyzed data revealed four thematic categories as 1) unfriendly workplace, 2) lack of opportunity for professional advancement, 3) work stress, and 4) ethical issues. Recognizing nursing challenges in clinical setting can help faculty in academia and administrators in healthcare institutions to develop policies to reduce pitfalls and prevent attrition.