Factors Related to Care Competence, Workplace Stress, and Intention to Stay among Novice Nurses during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), a public health emergency of international concern, has made healthcare staff preparation and the nurturing of high-quality and adequate nursing professionals critical issues. This study aimed to explore registered nurses’ competence in nursing care and their intention to stay in their current workplace. In this study, participants who had graduated from different nursing education systems were recruited. The results indicated that nurses’ level of commitment to the workplace and clinical stress were positively correlated with the experience of working with patients. Stepwise regression analysis revealed the following significant predictors for intention to stay: clinical stress, frequency of caring for people with infections, and taking a course on infectious nursing. The novice nurses’ competencies in the areas of pandemic disease care and care for infectious adults depended on the experience of nursing care and nursing competence in their professional careers, which may have impact on the nurses’ intention to stay. Therefore, clinical stress, frequency of caring for patients, and taking nursing courses were correlated with novice nurses’ intention to stay in their professional careers.

The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic on Nurses’ Turnover Intention: An Integrative Review

“…Ten of the 43 reviewed studies were conducted after the COVID-19 pandemic [ 5 , 7 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. The aims of 7 of the 10 studies included investigation of the impact of psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, and fear of COVID-19 on nurses’ turnover and turnover intention [ 5 , 7 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 21 , 22 ].…”

“…Ten of the 43 reviewed studies were conducted after the COVID-19 pandemic [ 5 , 7 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. The aims of 7 of the 10 studies included investigation of the impact of psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, and fear of COVID-19 on nurses’ turnover and turnover intention [ 5 , 7 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 21 , 22 ]. The other three studies aimed to examine the impact of social support on nurses’ retention intention [ 7 ], determine the association between workplace bullying and intention to leave [ 19 ], and compare nurse turnover before and after the COVID-19 pandemic [ 20 ].…”

“…Two of the 10 post-COVID-19 studies assessed nurses’ intention to stay and retention intention [ 5 , 7 ], which were 2.00 and 3.91, respectively. The rest of the post-COVID-19 studies measured nurses’ turnover intention, and the mean ranged from 2.23 to 3.42 [ 15 , 18 ].…”

“…Many terms have been used in the nursing literature that are synonymous with nurses’ turnover intention, such as intention to leave, intention to quit, intention to stay, risk of quitting, and job retention intention [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Although increasing attention has been paid to the difference between organizational and professional turnover intentions, the lack of consistency of the definition and measurement of organizational turnover, professional turnover, organizational turnover intention, and professional turnover intention is still evident in the nursing literature [ 8 ].…”

The Interactive Effect of COVID-19 Risk and Hospital Measures on Turnover Intentions of Healthcare Workers: A Time-Lagged Study

“…Current research on COVID-19 is predominately dedicated to preparing a vaccine, treatment rate, and infection control [8]. Although organizational behavior researchers have started investigating the implications of COVID-19 for organizations [9,10], its psychosocial aspects [11] and its consequences for turnover intentions, particularly for healthcare workers, are less addressed [12,13]. Therefore, the current study is among the few studies to conceptualize and empirically test the perceived risk of COVID-19 by revising an existing measure available on perceived vulnerability to disease developed by Duncan et al [14].…”