Qualitative Study on personal factors that influence the continuation of employment of nurses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the personal factors that cause nurses to remain in their profession. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 Mid-level nurses with more than five years of clinical experience who we qualitatively analyzed at hospitals and home-visit nursing stations. We determined four personal factors that explain why Mid-level nurses remain in their profession: the attraction, importance, and suitability for the profession and interpersonal skills in the workplace. These factors interact with the "willingness" and "behavior to continue nursing" which are interpreted as a "state of continuing nursing" that could affect society. This may be explained by the self-efficacy of learning theory, and it was suggested that these four factors should be properly supported and self-efficacy increased in order to continue the nursing profession.