Nurse manager retention what are the factors that influence their intentions to stay

Recruiting well-qualified nurses into managerial positions is problematic because of the challenges associated with the role, the nursing shortage and the attraction of other opportunities within nursing. Leadership behavior is known to influence staff nurse retention and ultimately patient care outcomes, which makes it critical that we better understand what factors influence Nurse Managers' decisions to leave or stay in management positions. The results of a systematic literature review suggest that Nurse Manager retention is a multifactoral issue. A primary analysis of data from Nurse Managers was conducted as the second part of this study. Job satisfaction, work-life balance, empowerment and the ability to ensure quality patient care were identified to be influential retention factors. These findings should enable administrators to develop strategies in the areas of leadership development and creation of healthy work environments that will increase job satisfaction and ultimately retention. Further research to develop sound theoretical models of Nurse Manager retention is required.