Current turnover intention among nurse managers, directors, and executives

•Over 50% of nurses in formal leadership positions plan to leave their jobs within the next 5 years, and half of those are planning to leave within 2 years.•Of those planning to leave, 30% are planning to retire, making succession planning critical.•Managers, directors, and executives give different reasons for wanting to leave their positions.•A broad trend in all groups is the desire for professional advancement. Nursing leadership turnover can adversely affect nurse retention and thus quality of care. Little research has examined the way nurses at differing levels of leadership experience their workplace and voluntarily decide to leave. Our study sought to explore and compare intent to leave and turnover experiences of acute care nurse managers, directors, and executives. Data were collected via an online survey. Participants included nurse managers, directors, and executives from 47 states (n = 1880) working in acute care settings. Over 50% of respondents intend to leave their current positions within the next 5 years with reasons for leaving differing by type of nurse leader. Retirement was a factor for slightly over 30% of those nurse leaders overall and almost 50% of nurse executives. Nurse managers, directors, and executives experience turnover and intent to leave differently. Most frequently, voluntary factors for leaving a position include job dissatisfaction and a desire for promotion and advancement.