Why Are Nurses Leaving? Findings From an Initial Qualitative Study on Nursing Attrition

This qualitative study, published in MEDSURG Nursing, sought to identify the factors influencing the decision of nurses to leave clinical nursing practice. Nurses who had elected to leave clinical nursing were interviewed at the setting of their choice. Study participants commonly reported working in an unfriendly workplace environment, being exposed to emotionally distressing dilemmas on a frequent basis, fatigue and exhaustion. This study provides broad conceptualizations of why nurses leave clinical practice.