Identifying the key predictors for retention in critical care nurses

AIMS: The aim of this study was to explore the key predictors of retention in nurses working in critical care areas. BACKGROUND: The shortage of critical care nurses is reaching crisis proportions in Canada and throughout the industrialized world. Identifying the key influencing (i.e. person and organizational) factors and intermediary factors (i.e. job satisfaction, engagement, professional quality of life and caring) that affect intent to leave is central to developing optimal retention strategies for critical care nurses. DESIGN: As part of a larger mixed-methods study, we used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. A novel framework: the Conceptual Framework for Predicting Nurse Retention was used to guide this study. METHODS: On-line survey data were collected from on a convenience sample of 188 registered nurses working in critical care areas of hospitals in the province of Manitoba, CANADA in 2011. RESULTS: Twenty-four per cent of the respondents reported that they would probably/definitely leave critical care in the next year. Based on bivariate and regression analyses, the key influencing factors that were significantly related to the intermediary factors and intent to leave critical care and nursing included: professional practice, management, physician/nurse collaboration, nurse competence, control/responsibility and autonomy. Of the intermediary factors, all but compassion satisfaction were related to intent to leave both critical care and nursing. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of exploring multiple organizational and intermediary factors to determine strategies to retain critical care nurses. The findings also support the Conceptual Framework for Predicting Nurse Retention as a theoretical basis for further research.