Introduction: Occupational stress is one of the greatest challenges of modern society, almost every one in four workers is affected by it.
Aim: The aim of the current study is to establish the correlation and influence that professional stress has on nurses' views concerning turnover.
Materials and Methods: An anonymous survey was conducted among the 413 nurses from the university hospitals and hospitals in the North-East region. A total of 11 types of wards and clinics characterized by high workload intensity were studied. The data were statistically processed with SPSS v. 20.0 for Windows.
Results: Survey data clearly show that nurses face high- and low-intensity stress on a daily bases. Being simultaneously needed in many places and having insufficient time to perform all tasks is the cause of high levels of stress in over 50% of respondents. What influences nurse turnover are factors related to the organization and management of the work process. A significant share of nurses who have expressed their willingness to work in another structure of the same medical institution indicate that employment in many places is extremely stressful for them (p <0.05). Increased levels of stress due to insufficient time to complete all tasks provoke the willingness to work in a similar structure in another health care establishment (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The nurses in the surveyed structures work in emergency situations, the limited time to perform all tasks increases stress levels. Improving the organization and management of the workflow will provide the opportunity to attract and retain staff.
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