Professional commitment, resilience and intent to leave the profession among nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic ‐ a descriptive study

Abstract

Aim The three‐component model of commitment, resilience and selected nurse characteristics were tested as predictors of nurses' intent to leave the profession. Background In the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic, news reports suggest that a mass exodus of nursing professionals is occurring. Method This nonexperimental, descriptive, correlational, predictive study used a cross‐sectional approach to collect survey data from a convenience sample of 189 registered nurses (RNs) who were providing direct patient care in adult inpatient units with a high likelihood of admitting patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 and met other eligibility requirements. Results Most (73.5%) plan to remain in the nursing profession and feel highly resilient. Only affective commitment demonstrated a significant relationship to the intention to leave the nursing profession. Conclusions The study was conducted after the pandemic had been in effect for a prolonged time, and it is likely the nurses with the intent to leave the profession had already left. The findings provide a glimpse of a sample of nurses drawn from a population likely much different from only a few months prior. Implications for Nursing Management Strategies to retain nurses should include efforts to strengthen professional commitment and build resilience.

Exploring the relationships between resilience, burnout, work engagement, and intention to leave among nurses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

“…The current findings diverge from those of earlier studies, which demonstrated that an elevated level of resilience among nurses correlated with a reduced propensity to leave their positions. This was particularly evident in studies of nurses employed within a multi-hospital system in the southeastern United States during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 22 ] and amongst nurse leaders based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA [ 29 ].…”

The relationship between ambulance team’s professional commitment, occupational anxiety, and resilience levels

“…On the other hand, there are some studies the results of which diverge from our study. For example, in the study carried out to test the professional commitment, resilience and intent to leave the profession among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kleier et al [ 62 ] found resilience was not a predictive of professional commitment.…”

The relationships between burnout, general wellbeing, and psychological detachment with turnover intention in Chinese nurses: a cross-sectional study

“…In this study, the mean total score for nurses' turnover intentions was 13 (10, 15.75), 56% of nurses have a high level of turnover intention, and these results are consistent with international studies on the same issue (36.5% to 64.9%) ( 56 – 59 ) but are lower than similar findings in China ( 11 , 42 ). The difference may be due to the timing of the survey in this study; nurses who had the intention to leave may have already left, thus yielding a sample with a lower intention to leave ( 60 ). In addition, our study also found that contract nurses had higher turnover intentions than tenured nurses, which is consistent with previous studies ( 61 ).…”