The impact of nursing leadership characteristics and nursing work environment on nurses' intent to stay in dissimilar healthcare cultures

This quantitative study investigated the differences in nursing leadership and the nursing work environment in magnet and non-magnet hospitals and the relationship with nurses' intent to remain employed at their respective organization. Nurses from hospitals, one magnet and one non-magnet hospital, in a southwestern US metropolitan area participated in the study. A modified Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) (Lake, 2002) was used. Significant differences existed between the magnet and non-magnet hospital with regard to perceptions of leadership effectiveness and intention to remain with the organization. Nurses in the magnet hospital were more likely to rate leadership as more effective and more likely to indicate their desire to remain with the hospital.