Impact of nurse staffing on intent to leave, job satisfaction, and occupational injuries in Korean hospitals: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine nurse staffing in comprehensive nursing care units in Korea and examine the corresponding nurse outcomes, including intent to leave, job satisfaction, and occupational injuries. A total of 356 nurses working in comprehensive nursing care units at eight small-medium sized Korean hospitals participated in this cross-sectional study. In the day, evening, and night shifts, nurse staffing ranged from 9.00 to 24.82, 9.04 to 24.26, and 9.02 to 25.80, respectively. The nurse staffing on each shift did not have a significant impact on nurses' intent to leave, job satisfaction, and occupational injuries. However, workload had a strong relationship with intent to leave and job satisfaction. Voluntary overtime was related to occupational injuries. These findings demonstrate that workload is an important factor for intent to leave and job satisfaction among nurses working in comprehensive nursing care units. Improvements of the work environment, as well as rearrangement of nurse workload to account for patient acuity and nursing needs, are required for the future expansion of comprehensive nursing care services.