[The role of agentic capacities in turnover intentions among nurses]. / Il ruolo delle capacità agentiche nelle intenzioni di turnover del personale infermieristico.

OBJECTIVES: Voluntary turnover in the nursing profession is one of the main concerns in hospitals and it requests comprehensive research. This study contributes to explain the reasons related to turnover intention of nurses and provides causes for reflection to improve the working practice. METHODS: 161 nurses and 13 nursing coordinators, working in the wards of two Italian hospitals, participated in the study. A self-report questionnaire was administered to them in order to analyze the relationship between agentic capacities (self-regulation, anticipation, vicarious learning, self-reflection) and the intentions to leave the ward and the hospital. RESULTS: The data show a negative association between self-regulation and the desire to leave the ward and the hospital, and a positive association between self-reflection and the intention to leave the ward. The results also show that organizational seniority has a negative effect on intentions to leave the ward and the hospital, while professional seniority has a positive effect only on the intention to leave the hospital. Finally, the nursing coordinators perceive to have a greater ability to manage their own emotional states and behavior, to prefigure future events and to learn from their own experience than nurses. CONCLUSIONS: The study's results suggest actions and interventions to develop self-regulation of the nursing staff to reduce turnover intentions and improve the quality of the service offered taking into account seniority and professional organization.

The role of job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities on nurses' turnover intention and patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Nurses' voluntary turnover is a worrying global phenomenon which affects service quality. Retaining nursing staff within a hospital is important to eliminate the negative influence of voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organisation costs. OBJECTIVES: This research helps explain nurses' voluntary turnover by analysing the role of self-efficacy, agentic capacities, job satisfaction, and work engagement on hospital turnover intention, and to study the relationships between these variables and patient satisfaction. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study gathered data from 194 nurses and 181 patients from 22 inpatient wards at two hospitals in southern Italy. RESULTS: Correlation analysis revealed that job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities were positively interrelated and negatively correlated with turnover intention. Path analysis showed that self-efficacy, some agentic capacities (anticipation and self-regulation), job satisfaction, and work engagement had direct or indirect effects on nurses' turnover intention, and that job satisfaction exerted a stronger effect on turnover intention. Also, patient satisfaction was positively correlated with nurses' job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy, self-regulation and anticipation and negatively correlated with nurses' turnover intention. CONCLUSION: Results highlighted the importance of implementing actions (for example through feedforward methodology and the goal setting technique) to improve self-efficacy, self-regulation skill, work engagement and job satisfaction in order to reduce nurses' turnover intention and increase patient satisfaction with nursing care.

The intention to leave among nurses: the role of job satisfaction, self-efficacy and work engagement. / L'intenzione di lasciare il lavoro nel personale infermieristico: il ruolo della soddisfazione lavorative, dell'autoefficacia e del work engagement.

INTRODUCTION: Retaining nursing staff within hospitals is essential to limit the negative impact of excessive voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organization costs. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to explain voluntary turnover in the nursing profession by analyzing the influence of job satisfaction and, in particular, self-efficacy and work engagement on turnover intention. METHODS: 210 nurses working in three hospitals in Southern Italy have completed a self-report questionnaire. A correlation analysis was applied in order to test the relationship between variables, while the role of age, professional and organizational seniority was estimated through partial correlations. A multiple linear regression was performed to verify the role of self-efficacy and work engagement in predicting turnover intention. RESULTS: Job satisfaction, self-efficacy and work engagement are positively correlated. These dimensions are negatively correlated with the intention to change the hospital; furthermore, age, professional and organizational seniority have an effect on this relationship. Work engagement fully mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and turnover intention. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the importance of considering not only job satisfaction, but also self-efficacy and work engagement, in studies on turnover intentions. These findings suggest to implement actions to increase self-efficacy, and especially work engagement, to reduce the voluntary turnover of nursing staff.