Dr. Muhammad Alotaibi
Voluntary
turnover rates are high among staff nurses working in Kuwaiti hospitals. It is
a major problem, costly and it is presumed to impact on the quality of nursing
care delivered. Many researchers have identified factors that influenced
voluntary turnover among nurses. These factors included job stress as a result
of job burnout (Robinson et al. 2003), job dissatisfaction (Dworkin 2002),
dissatisfaction with salary or benefits (Apker et al. 2003), organizational
climate of the hospital (Gormley 2003), poor nurse–physician relationships
(Rosenstein 2002), workplace bullying (Hamilton & Pearce 2003). A major
reason for nurses’ turnover is the perception of a lack of professional respect
and recognition by hospital administrators, doctors and the broader community.
Doctors are viewed as the only credible professional voice in health and nurses
are merely handmaidens even though they are highly trained employees who
outnumber doctors fourfold (Lumby 2004).
A few
years ago I conducted a study on voluntary turnover among nurses working in
Kuwaiti hospitals (Alotaibi, 2008). This study is considered as the first on
nurses turnover in Kuwait. The two aims of this study were to (1) find out if
nurses resignations in Kuwaiti hospitals could be ascribed to failure in the
recruitment process and (2) examine the feelings of nurses who resigned. Two
sets of exit interviews with 60 nurses who had resigned were conducted. The
results showed that no evidence emerged that any false information or
misleading information was provided except for the salary adjustments. The real
insight lay in what might not have been said in the recruitment interviews.
While feelings of discontent emerged in the interviews relating to the loss of
income, the greatest source of complaint related to the failure of managers to
solve the evident problems.
I believe that high
rate of voluntary turnover is a very big issue. It requires more attention from
administrators and policy makers in Ministry of Health in Kuwait because of its
potential consequences in terms of the quality of nursing care delivered.
References
Alotaibi, M.
(2008) Voluntary turnover among nurses working in Kuwaiti hospitals. Journal
of Nursing Management 16, 237–245
Apker J., Ford
Z.W.S. & Fox D.H. (2003) Predicting nurses organizational and professional
identification: the effect of nursing roles professional autonomy, and
supportive communication.
Nursing Economics
21 (5), 226–232.
Dworkin R.W.
(2002) Where have all the nurses gone? Public Interest 148, 23–37
Gormley D.K.
(2003) Factors affecting job satisfaction in nurse faculty: a meta-analysis. Journal
of Nursing Education 42 (4), 174–178
Hamilton N.
& Pearce L. (2003) A question of respect. Nursing Standard 17 (45),
14–16.
Lumby J. (2004)
Unheard cries from within the hospital. Sydney Morning Herald 11, 15.
Robinson J.R.,
Clements K. & Land C. (2003) Workplace stress among psychiatric nurses. Journal
of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services 41 (4), 32–43.
Rosenstein A.H.
(2002) Nurse-physician relationships: impact on nurse satisfaction and
retention. American Journal of Nursing 102 (6), 26–34
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