Factors associated with the intention to leave among newly graduated nurses in advanced‐treatment hospitals in Japan

AIM: The early resignation of newly graduated nurses (NGNs) will become a concern in Japan as the need for nurses increases. The aim of this study was to conduct an investigation using the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire to examine the effect of stressful experiences in the work environment and over-commitment on NGNs' intention to leave and to identify the factors that were associated with their intention to leave, clarifying the appropriate times at which to conduct interventions to prevent NGNs from leaving advanced-treatment hospitals. METHODS: Anonymous self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all the NGNs (n = 1364) in 14 advanced-treatment university hospitals. Questionnaires with no missing data were returned by 737 NGNs (54%). For the development of the questionnaire, we designed a framework that consisted of the factors that occur during three stages of the NGNs' transition into the workplace. The questions addressed items for individual attributes, employment and organizational characteristics, the Role Model Scale, the ERI questionnaire, two scale items for health status, and the intention to leave. In order to determine the factors that related to the dependent variables, hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were carried out. RESULTS: We revealed that effort, subjective health status, role models, and effort were important factors that related to the NGNs' intention to leave, as well as their age and city size. Over-commitment and reward were not significant factors. We also found that three subscales of the Job Readiness Scale independently related to the NGNs' intention to leave. CONCLUSION: These findings can help employers, supervisors, and senior staff of advanced-treatment university hospitals in Japan to improve their work environment in order to benefit NGNs and aid in their retention.