Aims: To describe turnover intention of emergency nurses and clarify the effects of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and workplace violence on turnover intention.
Background: Research has showed the predictors of turnover intention differed among nurses of different specialties. However, research on turnover intention has mostly focused on general nurses rather than emergency nurses.
Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 415 emergency nurses in Beijing, China, using convenience sampling. Path analysis was used to test the relationships between organizational commitment, job satisfaction, workplace violence and turnover intention.
Results: Most emergency nurses (90.2%) had a high level or very high level of turnover intention. Contrary to previous studies, organizational commitment had a significant direct positive effect on workplace violence. It also had a direct positive effect on job satisfaction and a negative effect on turnover intention. Workplace violence had a negative effect on job satisfaction and a positive effect on turnover intention. Job satisfaction had a direct negative effect on turnover intention.
Conclusion: To reduce turnover intention in the emergency department, measures should be taken to reduce workplace violence and increase nurses' job satisfaction, especially those with high organizational commitment.
Keywords: emergency department; job satisfaction; nursing; organizational commitment; turnover intention; workplace violence.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.