Educational Preparation and Nurse Turnover Intention from the Hospital Bedside

Evidence of an association between nurses’ educational preparation and patient safety has prompted many hospitals to engage in preferential hiring of baccalaureate nurses or invest resources into tuition assistance. Meanwhile, the difficult nature of nursing at the hospital beside, demanding hospital practice environments, and the need for nurses in expanded roles are converging to create a situation whereby education might beget increased turnover from the hospital bedside. This article describes a study that examined the relationship between educational preparation and turnover intention from the hospital bedside in a sample of nurses from an integrated health system in Pennsylvania. The authors discuss the review of literature, theoretical framework, and study methods. Results indicated that educational preparation independently predicted turnover intention from the hospital bedside. In the discussion and conclusion, the authors suggest that to keep hospitalized patients safe and reduce costs, the hospital bedside should be re-envisioned as a specialty so as to retain baccalaureate nurses in this setting.