Do temperament and character make sense in reducing nurse turnover? The role of professional capabilities improvement

ABSTRACT

Background

A critical shortage of nurses worldwide makes research necessary to address the problem. Research examining whether and how temperament and character may lead to nurses’ professional turnover intention can offer insights to address the nurse shortage issue.

Purpose

To examine the impact of temperament and character on nurses’ intention and actions to improve professional capabilities and professional turnover intention.

Method

This study surveyed 502 nurses in a major medical centre in Taiwan in 2018. The measures came from the literature. Structural Equation Modeling was used for analysis.

Results

Self-directedness, cooperativeness, and persistence were positively related to intention (or actions) to improve professional capabilities. Harm avoidance was negatively related to actions to improve professional capabilities. Such actions were subsequently negatively related to nurses’ professional turnover intention.

Conclusions

This study contributes to the literature by being the first to clarify how nurses’ temperament and character dimensions may lead to professional turnover intention.

Implications for Healthcare Managers

Our findings contribute insights for healthcare managers, i.e. they should pay particular attention to nurses with high levels of harm avoidance or low levels of persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness to retain nurses and, thus, improve the quality of a healthcare system.

KEYWORDS:

• Nurse
• Structural Equation Modeling
• survey
• temperament and character
• turnover

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Chang Gung Memorial Hospital for financial support (CMRPD3F0032).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou: [Grant Number CMRPD3F0032].

Notes on contributors

Thi Tuan Linh Pham

Thi Tuan Linh Pham, PhD, is a faculty member in Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam.

Tzu-Ling Huang

Tzu-Ling Huang is a PhD Candidate at Graduate Institute of Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.

Kuo-Piao Chung

Kuo-Piao Chung, PhD, is a Professor & Director at Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.

Yea-Ing Lotus Shyu

Yea-Ing Lotus Shyu, PhD & RN, is a Professor at Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University.

May-Kuen Wong

May-Kuen Wong, MD, is the honorary consultant doctor in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

Lun-Hui Ho

Lun-Hui Ho, MS & RN, is the Director of Department of Nursing, Chang Gung. Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan and Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University.

Ching-I. Teng

Ching-I. Teng, PhD, is a professor at Graduate Institute of Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.