Escaping or Dreaming: An Exploratory Study of Taiwanese Nurses Intent to Go Overseas

Lin, Li-Chiu

Monday, 31 October 2011

Li-Chiu Lin, MSN, RN
Department of Nursing, Kang-Ning Junior College of Medical Care and Management, Taipei, Taiwan
Hui-Ling Lee, MSN, RN, BS
Nursing Department, Kang-Ning Junior College of Medical Care and Management, Taipei, Taiwan
Patrick Crookes, PhD, BSc (Nursing), RGN, RN, RNT, CertEd
Faculty of Health & Behavioural Science, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Indigenous Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Kumiyo Inoue, PhD, RN
School of Nursing, Midwifery & Indigenous Health, University of Wollongong Australia, Wollongong, Australia

Learning Objective 1: examine the relationship between nurses’ work environment and intention to leave the profession

Learning Objective 2: explore factors leading Taiwanese nurses’ decision making to go overseas

As nurses represent the largest percentage of employees at medical system, their role in medical care is exceptionally important. However, nurses’ high turnover rate is a very serious problem around the world including Taiwan. Even though, different literatures had discussed the factors leading nurses leave their position, there is lack of literature investigate nurses’ decision making of going overseas.

The aims of this study were 1) examine the relationship between nurses’ work environment and intention to leave the profession 2) explore factors leading Taiwanese nurses’ decision making to go overseas. Snowball sampling with semi-structure face to face interview were applied in this study. Twenty Taiwanese nurses, aged between twenty six and fifty and worked as a registered nurse in Australia, were interviewed.

With a big range of participants’ age, the factors that drove those Taiwanese nurses to go overseas contained seeking higher education and working dissatisfaction. Twelve these twenty participants, particularly in the age group older than 35, had experienced seeking higher education. The other significant factor influencing participants’ decision to resign has been termed as work dissatisfaction. Factor was reported in the group of the age under 35. The result of this study provides a background to future research consideration.

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