Why do nurses leave their profession?

Background: Insufficient nursing staff is an ongoing problem which requires urgent solution in many countries. Worsening working conditions and problems with the image of nurses lead nurses to quit their jobs, which causes the problem of insufficient nursing staff. Health care administrators need information to make changes in the working conditions to keep nurses on profession.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the personal, workplace and nursing related reasons that lead nurses to leave their profession.Methods: This is a descriptive study and included 150 nurses who left their profession. Participants recruited using snowball sampling method. Non-employed nurses as well as employed in other occupations were included in the study. Data were collected at one to one interviews or via e-mail during one year period with a questionnaire developed by the investigator. The questionnaire included 11 questions about characteristics of nurses and reasons why they leave their profession. Responses of the open-ended questions analysed independently by two people. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics.Results: Results showed that 68% of the nurses received education in a non-nursing field and 81.3% of them were still working in a non-nursing field. The nurses noted that the main reasons for leaving their jobs was poor working conditions and that nursing related factors also played a role in their decisions to leave their jobs. Other reasons mentioned by the nurses were personal and familial factors and management climate. However, the nurses reported that salary did not affect their decisions.Conclusion: The findings indicate that working conditions should be improved to prevent nurses from leaving their profession.Key Words: Nursing, leaving profession, reasons for leaving, working conditions