The Proportion and Causes of Resignation of Nurses from Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University

Abstract

Background and Objective:  Currently despite a large number of nurses,  there is a shortage of nurses entering the workforce because the production of nursing graduates is lower than the demand.  Consequently, the demand for nurses cannot be met. Furthermore, the increase in the resignation of nurses adversely affected health services, the quality of medical and public health services, as well. The objective of the study was to identify the proportion of nurses’ resignation from Srinagarind  Hospital , Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University.

 Methods: Personnel data base and 351 nurse resignation records from Khon Kaen University. during the fiscal years 2001-2010 were reviewed using retrospective study. The collected data was processed by the excel program and double-entry technique was used to ensure the accuracy of the recording of data. The details of the collected data included personal information, length of employment and reasons for resignation. The data was then analyzed using the descriptive statistics: frequency, percentage, means, standard deviation, and 95% CI. The processed data was presented in the form of line chart.

 Results: It was found that the proportion of nurses’ resignation from Srinagarind  Hospital , Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University in the past 10 years( 2001-2010) was between 2.11% to 7.62%. Most of the resignation was voluntary. This study also found the increasing trend of resignation in 2001-2003. The resignation then dropped in 2004and remained stable until 2006, and increased in 2010. Moreover, this study also found that the highest resignation proportion was among nurses who had duration of employment between 1-5 years. The major reasons for their resignation in the fiscal year of 2001-2005 were getting a new job, and job transferring whereas the reasons for resignation after the year 2006 were family reasons.

 Conclusion: There was an increasing trend in nurses’ resignation from Srinagarind  Hospital , Faculty of Medicine, during the years 2009-2010.  It was recommended that taking care of both young nurses and experienced senior nurses in terms of incentives and their families’ welfare in order to reduce  nursing manpower wastage.

 Key Words: Resignation,  Nurses