Date of Award

1989

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Science

Dissertation Committee

Janet K. Harrison, EdD, RN

Keywords

children's hospital, children & youth, employee turnover, nursing, organizational commitment, southern California

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships of professional image, organizational climate or domains thereof, professional commitment, organizational commitment, position satisfaction, and the influence of these variables on intent to stay employed. The path analytic model of intent to stay was temporally ordered and proposed that professional image and organizational climate affect intent to stay through professional commitment, organizational commitment, and position satisfaction. Subjects (n = 232) were both male and female registered nurses who worked per diem, part-time, or full-time on all shifts. They held clinical positions, delivered direct care, and had been employed in one of three Southern California Childrens' Hospitals for a minimum of 6 months. Professional image had inadequate predictive validity with the outcome variable, intent to stay, and was deleted from the model. The predictor variables explained 16% of the variance in intent to stay. Position satisfaction had 57% explained variance, with 34% variance explained for organizational commitment and less than 1% for professional commitment. Organizational commitment was the strongest predictor of intent to stay. Post hoc analysis for hospital differences revealed that predictor variables accounted for 16% of explained variance in intent to stay for Hospital 1, 23% for Hospital 2, and 21% for Hospital 3. Content analysis of qualitative data regarding reasons to stay validated findings from quantitative measures.

Document Type

Dissertation: Open Access

Department

Nursing

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