Pathways among the nursing practice environment, job burnout, and job satisfaction to intention to leave: a cross-sectional study conducted in Taiwan.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the pathways among the practice environment, job burnout, and job satisfaction and their relationships with the intention to leave among clinical nurses.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 310 nursing staff members working in regional teaching hospitals in southern Taiwan. The instruments used included the practice environment, job satisfaction, job burnout, and sociodemographic characteristics questionnaires.

Results: Structural equation modeling indicated that job satisfaction (β = -0.167) and job burnout (β = 0.361) were significantly and directly associated with the intention to leave, whereas the practice environment was significantly and directly associated with job satisfaction (β = 0.447). The practice environment (βindirect = -0.075) and job burnout (βindirect = 0.060) were significantly and indirectly associated with the intention to leave through job satisfaction.

Conclusion: Job burnout and job satisfaction are directly associated with the intention to leave. Therefore, improving the practice environment and subsequent job burnout could be strategies to improve job satisfaction and decrease the intention to leave.