Early career experiences and perceptions - a qualitative exploration of the turnover of young registered nurses and intention to leave the nursing profession in Finland

• Published in: Journal of nursing management Vol. 23; no. 8; pp. 1050 - 1057
• Main Authors: Flinkman, Mervi, Salanterä, Sanna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-11-2015; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Content analysis; Environment; Female; Finland; Humans; Intention; intention to leave; Job Satisfaction; Mentors; nurses; Nurses - psychology; Nursing; Personnel Turnover; profession; qualitative approaches; Social Support; Trust; turnover; Finland; profession; qualitative approaches; intention to leave; nurses; turnover
• ISSN: 0966-0429; 1365-2834
• DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12251

Aim
To describe why young registered nurses (RNs) had previously left an organisation and why they intend to leave the profession.
Background
Currently, many young registered nurses, including those in Finland, are considering leaving their job or have an intention to leave the profession.
Design
An in‐depth, descriptive approach was adopted.
Method
Data were collected in 2012 from interviews with 15 registered nurses (under the age of 30 years). The interviews were semi‐structured and analysed using conventional content analysis. The main questions addressed were: ‘Why had the young registered nurses left their previous organisation?’ and ‘Why do young registered nurses have an intention to leave the profession?’
Results
The findings centre on three themes: poor nursing practice environments; lack of support, orientation and mentoring, and nursing as a ‘second best’ or serendipitous career choice.
Conclusions
The first years of nursing are particularly stressful for newly‐graduated and inexperienced registered nurses. An in‐depth, qualitative approach reveals more complex reasons behind the turnover of registered nurses and intention to leave the profession than questionnaire surveys.
Implications for nursing management
Young registered nurses need social support from nurse managers and experienced colleagues to successfully transition into nursing practice environments. Adequate orientation and mentoring programmes are needed to facilitate this transition.