Explaining young registered Finnish nurses’ intention to leave the profession: A questionnaire survey

Abstract

Background Regardless of the current global nursing shortage, many nurses are planning to leave their profession. According to previous research, young nurses in particular are the most eager to leave—there is, however, no research available as to why this is. Objectives The aim of this survey study was to discover what proportion of young nurses intends to leave the profession in Finland and what the reasons behind this are. Design Quantitative, survey study. Settings Six hospital districts in Finland. Participants A total of 147 Registered Nurses, under the age of 30, working mainly in hospitals. Method Data was collected as part of the NEXT (Nurses Early Exit) -Study. A structured postal questionnaire, BQ-12, was used to collect the data in autumn 2003. Quantitative data were analysed using χ 2, the Fisher exact-test and Mann–Whitney U-test, and qualitative data were analysed using quasi-statistics. Results During the course of the past year, 26% of young nurses have often thought of giving up nursing. This was associated with personal burnout, poor opportunities for development, lack of affective professional commitment, low job satisfaction, work–family conflicts and higher quantitative work demands. In open-ended question, nurses stated that the main reasons for them considering leaving the profession included dissatisfaction with salary, the demands of nursing work, the inconvenience of shift work/working hours and uncertain work status. Conclusions Findings illustrate that there were several factors influencing the young nurses’ intentions. By identifying the factors responsible, it could be possible to retain young nurses in the field.