Predicting nurses’ organizational and professional turnover intentions

Aim Nursing shortages remain one of the most important problems in health care around the world. Existing nurses’ turnover intention further exacerbates this problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of nurses’ organizational and professional turnover intentions. Methods This study was conducted as a secondary analysis of existing data from the original cross‐sectional study, which was conducted in three public hospitals between February, 2013 and May, 2013. Of the 1389 nurses who were working in these hospitals, 791 returned usable surveys. The data were collected by using a demographic and organizational characteristics form, an organizational and professional turnover intentions questionnaire, Organizational Commitment Scale, and Professional Commitment Scale. The data were analyzed with a stepwise logistic regression analysis. Results The common variables that predicted the organizational and professional turnover intentions were marital status, work shift, organizational affective and normative commitment, and professional affective commitment. Conclusion The relationship between the commitment and the turnover intention of the nurses was not completely consistent with the collectivist characteristics of Turkish society. The findings showed that the organizational affective and normative commitment and professional affective commitment play a significant role in influencing nurses’ organizational and professional turnover intentions. It is important for organizations to recognize the significance of these variables, not only to retain their nursing workforce but also to attract new nurses.