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Factors that Affect Turnover Rate and Voluntary Quitting of Jobs by Newly Graduated Nurses

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Yasue Yamazumi, MS, RN1
Akira Kitagawa, MS, RN1
Itsuko Ishihara, PhD, RN2
Kiyomi Takahashi, PhD, RN2
Tsuyako Hidaka, MA, RN3
Hitomi Takemoto, MS, RN3
Mako Shirouzu, MS, RN3
Midori Matsuoka, PhD, RN4
Chika Tetsui, MS, RN4
Hidechika Iino, MEco, RN5
Masako Ono, MN, RN5
Yukiko Maeda, PhD, RN5
Etsuko Kitahara, MBA, RN, RM6
Fumiko Yasukata, RN, PhD7
(1)Faculty of Nursing, Fukuoka Prefectural University, Fukuoka, Japan
(2)Faculty of Nursing, The Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing, Fukuoka, Japan
(3)Department of Nursing, St. Mary's College of Nursing, Fukuoka, Japan
(4)School of Nursing, Fukuoka Jogakuin Nursing College, Fukuoka, Japan
(5)Department of Nursing, Seinan Jo Gakuin University, Fukuoka, Japan
(6)Department of Health Sciences, Kyusyu University, Fukuoka, Japan
(7)Faculty of nursing, Fukuoka Prefectural University, Fukuoka, Japan

Learning Objective 1: Present conditions related to turnover among new Japanese nurses.

Learning Objective 2: Factors related to turnover among new Japanese nurses.

Objective: To investigate contributing factors that affect job turnover rate and voluntary quitting of jobs by newly graduated nurses.

Method: A self-evaluation survey was conducted on a group of 370 nurses who had started working in hospitals. The survey targeted nurses who were 2009 graduates from seven affiliated universities, 2008 graduates working in hospitals after graduating from affiliated universities that are participating in the Caring Island Kyushu-Okinawa Project, and those working in hospitals located in Kyushu and Okinawa having more than 300 beds.

Ethical considerations: Questionnaires were completed anonymously and collected directly via mail. The survey was conducted upon obtaining approval from the research ethics review committees of the Fukuoka Prefectural University and the seven affiliated universities.

Results: 19.7% of the surveys were collected. The job turnover rate for newly graduated nurses was 11.0%. The surveys revealed two factors that affected the nurses’ decision to voluntarily quit their jobs: first, “workplace satisfaction” based on explicit occupational safety and health regulations, comfortable working environments, and support from co-workers; second, the “fatigue” caused by the high possibility of workplace accidents, difficulties in responding to conflicting requests, and exhaustion from communications with immediate supervisors.

Considerations: The overall job turnover rate for 2009 nursing graduates was at a high level of 8.9%, but this rate was lower than the 14.5% job turnover rate for new employees who graduated from college in 2008. However, because 1 in 10 new nurses with specialized nursing education and clinical training continued to leave their positions due to “workplace satisfaction” and “fatigue,” it is necessary to implement measures that prevent new nurses from leaving their jobs during the early stages of their careers by linking fundamental education with clinical training in the future.

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