Suicide Risk, Changing Jobs, or Leaving the Nursing Profession in the Aftermath of a Patient Safety Incident

Background Nursing retention is a concern for healthcare systems, hospital administrators, and nurses who have spent considerable time and money to achieve educational goals. Nearly, 33% of nurses will drop out in the 2 years practice. Those who stay in practice face an increased risk of suicide when compared the general population. Aims To examine the relationship between nurse sociodemographic data and unique study variables with potential morally injurious outcomes (i.e., dropping out variables: changing jobs, intention to leave the profession, or suicidal thinking). Methods A descriptive, correlational study design was used to characterize the relationship between the sociodemographic data of 216 registered nurses (RNs) and patient safety and the suicidal behavioral questionnaire. Results RNs involved in a patient safety incident (PSI) considered changing jobs when the degree of harm was death (p