Enhancing nurses’ perceptions of having a place to reduce turnover intentions

Abstract

AimTo investigate whether education, tenure, being an advanced practice nurse, skill level, and time pressure impact perceptions of “having a place” and, further, turnover intentions.BackgroundNursing shortages persist worldwide. Nurses’ turnover intentions are negatively related to their perceptions of “having a place” (i.e., the feeling that the nursing workplace is their territory). However, the sources of nurses’ perceptions of the perception of “having a place” remain unknown.MethodsOur research employed a cross‐sectional and correlational design. This research was conducted at a large‐scale hospital in northern Taiwan from December 2021 to January 2022. We used personnel data pertaining to 430 nurses as well as scales for time pressure, “having a place” and turnover intentions to assess nurses’ intention to leave their place of employment. The inclusion criteria focused on full‐time nurses who worked for the hospital under investigation. Most of our participants were women. The STROBE statement was used as the EQUATOR checklist (supplemental file).Results“Having a place” was positively related to educational level, tenure, and skill level, while being an advanced practice nurse was negatively associated with perceptions of “having a place,” which in turn were negatively related to turnover intention among nurses.ConclusionOur study is the first to examine the antecedents of nurses’ perceptions of “having a place,” which include education, tenure, and skill level.Implications for nursing policyNursing policymakers could encourage nurses to pursue higher degrees and update their nursing skills while instilling perceptions of “having a place” in nurses with a brief tenure and advanced practice nurses.