Stress in Nursing and Intentions of Leaving the Profession

Abstract

This investigation examined nurses' intentions to leave their profession in response to problems related to occupational stress in a national sample of hospital nurses. The majority of the 283 nurse respondents were RNs, most worked the day shift, and the mean length of practice was 15–4 yr. Occupational stress was assessed on the Nurse Stress Inventory, which assesses eight factors: Professional Distress, Patient Care and Motivation, Time and Workload Management, Personal Time Disruptions, Emotional Manifestations, Behavioral Manifestations, Fatigue Manifestations, and Physiological Manifestations. Subscale scores were summed and averaged to derive a Total Stress Score. Each of nine group analyses of variance indicated significantly stronger stress for leavers than for stayers. Six of ten nurses indicated an intention to leave the profession.