The effect of a magnetic hospital work environment on the retention of registered nurses

This correlational study examined the relationship between the retention of registered nurses and the three dimensions of a magnetic hospital work environment: a domain consensus of excellence, professional development through relationships and professional actualization through the work itself. The three dimensions were comprised of two or more subscales which were: role clarity, innovation, structural flexibility, commitment, professional bonding, administrative support, professional discretion and task discretion. The subjects were 108 registered nurses practicing hospital nursing in the District of Columbia who received a survey by direct mail and who were given anonymity and confidentiality. The data were collected from an original instrument designed by the researcher, the Richards Retention Inventory (RRI), and analyzed, using the Loglinear Regression model. From the results, it was concluded that the three dimensions of a magnetic hospital work environment were positively related to the retention of registered nurses and that retention was a linear function of the three dimensions of a magnetic hospital work environment. In addition, the more these dimensions were present in the hospital environment, the more likely registered nurses were to remain in their present employment. It was recommended that hospitals concerned about the nursing shortage focus on retaining nurses rather than recruiting and replacing them by structuring their work environments in order to achieve positive results in the three dimensions of magnetism. Recommendations for future research were for a replication of the study using random sampling and obtaining a large enough sample to permit the correlation of the subscales of each dimension with RNs' intent to remain in their present employment in order to determine the degree to which each subscale contributed to retention of registered nurses.