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Always a Nurse

A profession for a lifetime.

Sanford, Kathleen D. DBA, RN, FACHE, FAAN

CommonSpirit Health, Chicago, Illinois.

Correspondence: Kathleen D. Sanford, DBA, RN, FACHE, FAAN, CommonSpirit Health, 444 W. Lake St, Ste 2500, Chicago, IL 60606 ( [email protected] ).

The author declares no conflict of interest.

A single career in nursing may encompass numerous and very different positions. Nurses are aware they can select from a variety of specialties, as they choose to learn additional skills or pursue new opportunities. Today's nurses use their intelligence, experience, and holistic concern for all people in more diverse arenas than ever before. This article is followed by a series of first-person accounts of jobs that may not, on first consideration, look like nursing roles. These professionals have not left nursing. They have carried their healing energy, grounding in the nursing process, as well as a desire to improve the well-being of others with them, because they are nurses.

WHAT, exactly, is a nurse? Is he or she simply a person who graduated from an accredited school of nursing? Or, are nurses persons who successfully passed, in the United States at least, one of the state boards of nursing examinations? Does pursuing a career outside of what has historically been considered mainstream health care mean that an individual should no longer identify with the profession? Or, is a nurse only a nurse when his or her professional role involves direct patient (or direct client) interactions and care?

For most of the public, the primary visual image of nurses is probably a group of (mostly) women dressed in scrubs, who perform a variety of personal care or technical procedures in a hospital or clinic setting. Some older individuals may still envision women in white uniforms. Others, who have recently interacted with them outside of acute care, might include both men and women in business clothes, military uniforms, or laboratory coats in their description. They may have encountered nurses in homes, schools, office buildings, birthing centers, rehabilitation centers, prisons, drugstores, or freestanding urgent care and emergency facilities.

All of these depictions have one thing in common: all the nurses in these environments are seen in roles that involve direct interactions with those they are serving. In other words, it is recognized that nurses work in a variety of settings, but very few people would associate an image of, say, a virtual clinician or an executive in an office with “nurse.”

Nurses themselves might recognize the emergence of the virtual role as an appropriate specialty for their profession. However, some may not accept that a person who no longer provides personal care is still performing the role of a nurse. (The exceptions to this may be nurses in public health positions or college professors who are part of educating nurses in schools of nursing.) Gail Latimer, MSN, RN, FACHE, FAAN, recipient of the 2019 American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Lifetime Achievement Award, referred to this way of thinking when she was interviewed at the AONL annual meeting. She stated that some colleagues could not understand why she would go to work for a large information technology (IT) company. They told her she was “going to the dark side.” Gail, who has helped a myriad of nurses understand how technology can help patients and their caregivers, said, “Innovation is happening in industry. Nurses need to take jobs there. Who better than Florence Nightingale's professional descendants to bring the lamp of caring to the world in every way? We are able to light the corners while carrying the badge that we once touched patients.”

Some nurses whose career journeys include jobs outside of the public's conception of the prototypical nurse may agree they are “no longer caregivers.” Many, however, continue to see themselves as nurses. They are proud of their nursing roots and realize that their successes, their belief systems, and the very core of their beings are the results of being a lifetime member of a very special profession: Nursing.

THE MANY FACES OF NURSING IN HEALTH CARE

Nurses can be found in a variety of health care organization roles that do not include individual hands-on patient care. These include positions in management, executive practice, education, quality, patient experience, safety, human resources, recruiting, infection control, advocacy, chaplaincy, finance, care management, medical records, audit, insurance, strategy, supply chain, legal affairs, communications, compliance, and any number of other “business” activities. Hospitals and others have long recognized the value of unique skills that nurses bring to “non-nursing” jobs.

Management and executive roles filled by nurses may either be nursing specific (such as shift supervisors, unit managers, or chief nurse executives) or general health care management (such as chief executive officers [CEOs], chief operation officers, or formal leaders of non-nursing departments). Management is a specialty, a distinction that not all nurses recognize. Those who manage (and lead) well have defined characteristics, well documented in management literature. In fact, there is a large body of management theory and researched evidence-based practices for formal leaders. 1 The failure of many nurses and nurse educators to recognize nursing management and nurse executive practice as a specialty that needs specialized education and experience has resulted in some poorly prepared nurse managers. Since managers have position power that affects culture, morale, nurse engagement (and therefore patient engagement), turnover, quality, and any number of practice environment factors, this has been detrimental to the profession, individuals, and entire organizations. It has led to the placement of great clinical specialists into a new specialty for which they are inadequately prepared. Sometimes, they are neither ready to competently perform their management jobs nor ready to advocate for their nursing colleagues and patients. In some cases, their lack of preparation or suitability to the role has reinforced perceptions of other health care leaders that nurses are not interested in, or able to manage, budgets or finances. In addition, if nursing management was widely recognized as a specialty that is just as legitimate as medical, surgical, behavioral health, or critical care, perhaps, more nurses would understand that nurses in formal leadership positions have not “left” nursing ( Table 1 ).

Nurse CEOs are even more likely to be seen as no longer belonging to the nursing profession. Some have allowed their licenses to lapse; some do not use “RN” after their names. This is in stark contrast to physician CEOs, who consistently identify themselves as “doctors” (MD or DO). Others recognize that their nurse experience has enriched their professional lives and should give them more credibility as individuals who know that they are leading a clinical enterprise, not just a business that happens to provide health care. They are proud to claim nursing and to have other know that they have touched patients and can relate to the challenges faced by caregivers ( Table 2 ).

“Nurses as hospital administrators” is not a new phenomenon. In fact, historians Margarete Arndt and Barbara Bigelow have published several articles about the history of hospital management, as described in Table 3 .

A third group of nurses who are sometimes accused of having “left” nursing (and “joined” medicine) are those who have selected advanced practice specialties. Although they are educated in schools of nursing, have nursing licenses, have “nurse” in their specialty titles (nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, etc), and are under the jurisdiction of state boards of nursing, they are sometimes not identified with the profession. By definition, physicians and advanced nurse practitioners are not the same:

Doctors, at their core, are scientists; they study diseases and how to cure them. Nurse practitioners, at their core, are healers. The vast majority began their careers as registered nurses, and focus their care on wellness of the whole body and mind. That's not to say that doctors never take a more holistic approach to health, or that Nurse Practitioners don't use scientifically tested treatments—there's plenty of overlap—but their basic approach to patient care differs at the philosophical level. 2

In addition, their biggest professional support continues to come from nursing organizations and nurse leaders who advocate for them and for laws/regulations that allow them to practice at the top of their licenses ( Table 4 ).

NURSES IN ROLES OUTSIDE OF TRADITIONAL HEALTH CARE

While most nurse leaders recognize the natural fit between nurses and health care roles that do not quite fit the stereotypes, many members of the public do not realize the variety of ways that nursing is practiced. They might be surprised to learn that there are organizations such as The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) and the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA).

They may know that nursing specialties include hospice, camp, cruise ship, public health, dialysis, correctional (prison), and flight nursing. These roles are still considered hands-on. Some community members may have crossed paths with nurses who are health coaches or who serve as occupational nurses, with responsibility for the health and safety of workers in industry. It is less likely that they are aware that nurses serve as informaticists, who combine the sciences of nursing and analytics; telehealth clinicians, who triage patients and help them discern next steps for care they may need; forensic nurses, with special training in protection of evidence, who care for the victims of trauma or violence in the criminal justice system; case managers, who coordinate an individual's care across the confusing landscape of a fragmented health system; or nurse writers, who compose educational/academic materials, author articles for journals or magazines, write history books, or even develop television and movie scripts that involve health care.

Nurses perform all of these roles and more. Some are also lobbyists for patients and the professionals who care for them. Some serve on boards, where they can bring the voice of these groups to decision tables. Others have determined that their knowledge and passion for healing individuals, communities, and nations can be most influential when they serve as elected officials. Table 5 describes nurse who have served (or are currently serving in) the Congress of the United States.

THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE FOR NURSING

There are multiple books that chronicle the history of nursing. Some record the life stories of individual nurses, such as Mary Eliza Mahoney, Edward Lynn, Clara Barton, John Hogan, Catherine McCauley, Walt Whitman, Juan Ciudad, and, of course, Florence Nightingale. Others, such as in the beautiful book by Patricia Donahue, Nursing, the Finest Art: An Illustrated History , 15 trace the history of a profession essential to the well-being of humanity.

The calendar is about to turn to the year 2020, which has been declared the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organization. Governments around the world have endorsed this, recognizing that the goal of universal health care will not be accomplished without these professionals. 2020 is also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale and the third year of the international “Nursing Now” campaign, which has a goal of increasing worldwide health by improving the profile and status of nurses. Acknowledging the variety of roles that nurses play in their quest for universal “wellness” can help with that objective.

Today's nurses continue to use their intelligence, skill, experience, passion, and holistic concern for all people in more diverse arenas than ever before. This article is followed by a series of first-person accounts of jobs that might not, at first consideration, look like nursing roles. The nurse authors of these narratives are a very small sample of those who have pursued education and opportunities that took them away from the bedside, but who retain their identity as nurses. Every one of them speaks about how their nursing education (including training based on the Nursing Process—see Table 6 ) and experience as direct caregivers have provided the foundation for their lives and current work. They have not “left” their profession. They have carried nursing—embodied by their intellect, healing energy, love, and desire to improve the wellness of the world—with them ... because they are nurses.

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diverse nursing roles; nursing process; nursing specialties

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• Published: 10 February 2022

Nurses’ turnover intention, hope and career identity: the mediating role of job satisfaction

• Huiling Hu 1   na1 ,
• Chongkun Wang 1   na1 ,
• Yue Lan 1 &
• Xue Wu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7407-5257 1  

BMC Nursing volume  21 , Article number:  43 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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A high turnover rate has become a critical issue in the field of nursing and how to tackle the problem of nursing turnover has received increased attention worldwide. Hope, career identity, job satisfaction may be useful for reducing turnover. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships among career identity, hope, job satisfaction, and the turnover intention of nurses, and to test the mediating role of job satisfaction on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention.

A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. A total of 500 nurses were recruited from five comprehensive tertiary hospitals using convenience sampling. The questionnaire included items about sociodemographic information as well as the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, Nursing Career Identity Scale, Job Satisfaction Index Scale, and Nurse Turnover Intention Scale. Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. We describe the study in accordance with the STROBE statement.

Hope ( r  = − 0.227, p  < 0.001) and career identity ( r  = − 0.342, p  < 0.001) were negatively correlated with turnover intention. Job satisfaction played a completely mediating role on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention (β 1  = − 0.09, β 2  = − 0.33).

Conclusions

Job satisfaction mediated the associations of career identity and hope with turnover intention. Thus, effective measures can be taken to enhance nurses’ hope and career identity in order to improve their job satisfaction and thereby reduce their turnover intention. Providing nurses with more support, helping them find a spiritual foundation, and holding mindful activities that stimulate positive emotions are helpful. In addition, colleges should pay more attention to instilling nursing students with career identity and nursing values.

Peer Review reports

Nursing shortages have become a critical issue for healthcare systems all over the world [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Pressure on the healthcare system keeps growing because of the aging population and the increasing need of health services, which have greatly increased the demand for nurses [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. When the “Healthy China 2030” initiative was implemented in China, there was an adequate reserve of nursing human resources to meet increasing demand. However, as the WHO reported, rising demand has exacerbated a global nursing shortage, which is predicted to exceed 7.6 million by 2030 [ 8 ]. Thus, the high turnover rate of nurses is a global concern [ 2 , 5 , 9 , 10 ]. Given the situation, the shortage of nurses will become more prominent. Though recruiting more nurses may help, retaining nurses in hospitals is another and potentially more effective method to cope with the problem of nursing shortages. Therefore, how to tackle the problem of nursing turnover has received increased worldwide attention [ 11 , 12 ].

A high turnover rate has become a critical issue in the field of nursing. Intention to leave is an early indicator of actual turnover [ 4 , 13 ], and one way to retain nurses is to reduce their turnover intention [ 1 ]. Turnover intention has been defined as “the last in a sequence of withdrawal cognitions, a set to which thinking of quitting and intent to search for alternative employment also belong” [ 14 ]. In simple terms, turnover intention indicates the intention to leave the job in a period ahead [ 15 ]. Turnover intention has been widely proved to be an important and practical antecedent variable of turnover, and it is the best predictor of actual turnover behavior [ 16 ]. Therefore, it is very important to identify the antecedents of turnover intention. A recent study reported that 22% of hospital nurses intended to leave their profession in less than a year because of workplace stress [ 17 ], and an earlier study reported that 15.5% of nurses intended to leave their profession [ 18 ]. Another study found 35–60% of nurses left their first place of employment within 1 year [ 19 ]. This can cause a shortage of clinical nurses, reduce nursing quality [ 9 , 17 ], and increase re-recruitment costs [ 3 ]. A lower rate of nurse turnover is associated with safe and positive outcomes for patients [ 1 ]. Thus, it is critical to identity the key factors that influence and mediate nurses’ turnover intention and to develop retention strategies tailored to nurses [ 7 ].

Turnover intention is affected by career identity, and a higher level of career identity usually indicates lower turnover intention among nurses [ 10 , 18 ]. Nurses’ career identity can affect nurses’ work enthusiasm and job satisfaction, so as to affect the quality of nursing [ 20 , 21 ]. Career identity is a relatively abstract concept, which refers to an individual’s understanding of the social impact of his or her profession and the significance of his or her work [ 22 ], and involves the internalization of core values and perspectives [ 23 ]. It can be characterized by feelings, values, and attitudes [ 24 ]. Nurses’ career identity is positively associated with job satisfaction [ 25 ]. When nurses positively identify with their careers, the dissatisfaction created by their work environment can be suppressed to a certain extent [ 26 ]. A study of 1312 hotel employees in China found that career identity has a positive impact on employees’ job satisfaction and a negative impact on turnover intention [ 27 ]. It further explains the mediating role of job satisfaction between career identity and turnover intention. However, in the nurse group, this intermediary relationship has not been explored.

A study of 416 employees shows that there is a significant negative relationship between psychological capital and turnover intention [ 28 ]. Ayijiamali et al. and Zou et al. concluded that employees with good psychological capital will look positively at things in the organization, which largely depends on hope and optimism. More studies show that psychological capital has a direct and indirect impact on turnover intention through intermediary variables [ 29 , 30 ]. Hope belongs to a kind of psychological capital and has different meanings in different situations. Hope is a positive motivation state based on the inner sense of success. It includes will power, a kind of energy and path of goal orientation, that is, the way and plan to achieve the goal [ 31 ]. Scholars have shown that hope is particularly important in the face of the intense competition and uncertainty that characterize the present work and career environment [ 32 ]. A high level of hope helps nurses appropriately deal with psychological distress and cope with difficulties at work more positively, and it can motivate their pursuit of professional development. Thus, the negative impact of dissatisfaction with the job that generates intention to leave may be diminished. It means that their job satisfaction will be higher. Hope can lead to positive arousal and persistence in pursuit of one’s goals (i.e., “energized to” motivation), which involves agency thinking, the confidence that one is capable of reaching one’s goals (“can do” motivation), as well as pathway thinking, which are a critical psychological resource related to positive human development in various life domains, including vocational pursuits [ 32 ]. A study of workers in China found that hope was negatively correlated with turnover intention [ 33 ]. Although hope is increasingly recognized to be an important psychological resource for professional development, most studies have focused on the relationship between career and psychological capital, which combines hope with optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience into a somewhat ambiguous concept, and studies on the effects of hope on job satisfaction and turnover intention are rare.

Job satisfaction has a negative association with turnover intention [ 2 , 34 ], which suggests that improving the job satisfaction of nurses could be an important strategy to retain them. The results of testing the turnover model show that job satisfaction is a significant antecedent of turnover intention. In other words, when employees’ job satisfaction is low, they will increase the behavior indicating their intention to leave the organization [ 35 , 36 ]. Job satisfaction is usually defined as a positive and pleasurable emotional reaction generated by an individual’s overall assessment [ 2 ]. Job satisfaction was first proposed by Hoppock et al. [ 37 ]. He believes that job satisfaction refers to an individual’s psychological and physiological satisfaction with the work itself and the environment, and it is also an individual’s subjective response to the work environment. Job satisfaction is an important part of organizational psychology and organizational behavior. Scanlan and Hazelton proposed that job satisfaction plays an intermediary role between career identity and employee turnover intention [ 25 ]. They believe that career identity enables employees to effectively obtain the required work resources, helps to create a comfortable working atmosphere, so as to improve employees’ job satisfaction and reduce employees’ turnover intention. It can be seen that career identity is the key factor affecting employees’ job satisfaction. Therefore, we propose that job satisfaction can be used as an intermediary to explain its intermediary role between career identity and turnover intention behavior. Using job satisfaction as an intermediary can deepen our understanding of how career identity affects hotel employees’ turnover intention. In addition, hope has been found to have a positive association with job satisfaction [ 38 ]. As career identity is closely related to self-efficacy, it may change attitudes towards work [ 39 ], so we can speculate that it may improve job satisfaction.

To sum up, the relationship between hope, career identity and turnover intention has been established in the literature. The research on the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between hope, career identity and turnover intention is still very limited. Therefore, by combining the mediating role of job satisfaction, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between hope, career identity and turnover intention. To our knowledge, there is no empirical study integrating these four variables into a model. We assumed that hope and career identity were negatively correlated with turnover intention, and that job satisfaction and turnover intention were negatively correlated. We hypothesized that job satisfaction plays a mediating role on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention. The hypothetical model we developed is shown in Fig.  1 .

Hypothesized model of relationship between hope, career identity, job satisfaction and turnover intention

The purpose of this study was: (i) to investigate the turnover intention of nurses; (ii) to explore the relationships among career identity, hope, job satisfaction, and turnover intention; and (iii) to test the mediating effect of job satisfaction on turnover intention.

Design and data collection

This was a correlational study of 500 nurses who were recruited from comprehensive tertiary hospitals in Beijing using convenience sampling in June 2019. First, according to the convenience of sampling, we selected five comprehensive tertiary hospitals in Beijing, China. Then the nurses from all departments of the hospitals who were on duty on the survey day and were willing to cooperate with the survey were recruited. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) engaged in clinical work for more than 1 year; and (2) provided informed consent and volunteered to complete the questionnaires. Nurses studying in these hospitals were excluded. Trained volunteers handed out the questionnaires to potential participants, explained the purpose and principles of the study and the directions for completing the questionnaires, and obtained their informed consent. We received 493 valid questionnaires, for an effective completion rate of 98.6%. Klien suggests that a sample size of 200 or more is required to yield stable estimates for testing structural equation models (SEM) [ 40 ]. According to 10 times the number of the scale items, the sample size is 495. Considering a non-response rate of 10%, a total of 500 nurses is enough. The participants were informed that their participation was completely voluntary and anonymous. We describe the research process of the study in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement [ 41 ].

Sociodemographic characteristics

The sociodemographic variables included gender, age, marital status, level of education, years of work, professional title, management position, and department.

Hope was measured with the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS), which was developed by Snyder et al. [ 42 ] and revised by Chen, Shen, and Li [ 43 ]. The ADHS measures three dimensions of hope: agency thinking (4 items), pathway thinking (4 items), and distraction (4 items). Agency thinking refers to a group of self-belief systems that initiate individual actions and support individuals to move forward toward their goals and along the established path. Path thinking is a group of beliefs and perceptions about one’s ability to find effective ways to achieve desired goals [ 31 ]. The four questions of “distraction” are used to distract the subjects. Each item is rated from 1 to 4, except the distraction items, which are not rated. Higher scores indicate higher levels of hope. The Cronbach’s α coefficients were 0.78 for the total score, 0.73 for agency thoughts, and 0.75 for pathway thoughts. And confirmatory structural analysis showed that it had good structural validity [ 43 ].

• Career identity

The Nursing Career Identity Scale (NCIS) was developed by scholars at Tokyo University in Japan, and it has been widely used in Japan, Sweden, and other countries. Its cross-cultural adaptation and tests of its validity and reliability were conducted by Chinese scholars [ 44 ]. The 21 items of the NCIS measure seven dimensions, including sense of grasp (3 items), sense of consistency (4 items), sense of significance (3 items), sense of self efficacy (3 items), sense of self decision (3 items), sense of organizational influence (2 items), and sense of individual influence (3 items). All the items are rated on a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 (extremely not conform) to 7 (extremely conform). The content validity index of each item is greater than 0.80 (Mean = 0.92). The Cronbach’s α of the entire scale is 0.84 and the α for the sense of organizational influence dimension is 0.69; the α for the other dimensions are equal or greater than 0.70.

• Job satisfaction

We measured job satisfaction with the Job Satisfaction Index described by Schreisheim and Tsui at the Western Management Institute Conference in 1980 [ 45 ]. The 6 items of it measure three dimensions, including general satisfaction (2 items), intrinsic satisfaction (2 items) and extrinsic satisfaction (2 items). Its six items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with a higher total score indicating higher job satisfaction. The Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.73. In this study, the Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.83 and the α of dimensions are 0.78, 0.74 and 0.75 respectively.

Turnover intention

We used the Nurse Turnover Intention Scale (NTIS) developed by Michael and Spector [ 46 ], which contains six items that measure three dimensions: possibility of resigning from present job (2 items); motivation to seek another job (2 items); and possibility of obtaining an external job (2 items). All the items were rated on a 4-point scale: never = 1, seldom = 2, occasionally = 3, and often = 4. The total average score ≤ 1 indicates very low turnover intention, > 1 and ≤ 2 indicate low turnover intention, > 2 and ≤ 3 indicate high turnover intention, and > 3 indicate very high turnover intention. The Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.77 and the content validity index is 0.68. In this study, the Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.83 and the α of dimensions are 0.79, 0.63 and 0.72 respectively.

Data analysis

First, descriptive statistics were calculated for the sociodemographic characteristics, which are presented as frequency counts and percentages, and the main study variables (i.e., the four scales), which are presented as mean and standard deviation as the data were normally distributed. No missing data in valid questionnaire. Second, Pearson’s correlation was used to test the associations between the main study variables. Next, multiple linear regression was performed with job satisfaction as the dependent variable in Model 1 and turnover intention as the dependent variable in Model 2. The independent variables included sociodemographic characteristics, hope, career identity, and job satisfaction (see the Results for details). These statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 24.0. The results were considered statistically significant when p  < 0.05. Finally, AMOS was used to conduct structural equation model (SEM), with turnover intention as the dependent variable, hope and career identity as independent variables, and job satisfaction as the mediating variable to test its mediating effect.

Characteristics of the participants

The sociodemographic characteristics of the sample are displayed in Table  1 . Almost all of the participants were female (98.6%) and the average age was 31.8 years (SD = 7.4). The majority were 25–44 years of age (75.3%) and married (65.3%). More than half held a Bachelor’s degree or higher (63.5%), and most of them held a junior professional title (71.4%) and no management position (94.3%).

Participants’ hope, career identity, job satisfaction and turnover intention

The descriptive statistics for hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover are shown in Table 2 . The average score of hope is 22.67 ± 3.57, and paths thinking scored higher than agency thinking (11.77 ± 1.83 vs. 10.90 ± 2.04). The average score of career identity is 110.22 ± 19.16, and the average score of items in sense of self efficiency dimension is the highest. The average score of job satisfaction is 20.71 ± 4.55, and the score of external satisfaction dimension is the highest. The average score of turnover intention is 15.54 ± 3.77, and the average score of items is greater than 2, indicating that the participants’ turnover intention is at a high level.

Associations among hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention

Pearson’s correlations are shown in Table  3 . Hope had a moderate positive correlation with career identity ( r  = 0.494) and job satisfaction ( r  = 0.421). We also found a positive relationship between career identity and job satisfaction ( r  = 0.610). There were negative correlations between turnover intention and hope ( r  = − 0.227), career identity ( r  = − 0.342), and job satisfaction ( r  = − 0.501). It is worth noting that was just small level of correlation between turnover intention and hope, while medium level with career identity.

Table 4 presents the results of the regression analysis, which further show the relationships between hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Job satisfaction was the dependent variable in Model 1, and hope, career identity, age, and women & children unit were the independent variables. Model 1 accounted for 42.5% of the variance in nurse’s job satisfaction, and revealed that career identity predicted job satisfaction (β = 0.540) better than hope did (β = 0.159). Model 2 accounted for 32.4% of the variance in nurses’ turnover intention (the dependent variable), with job satisfaction, vocational education, gender, women & children unit, surgical unit, other unit, and marital status (married or not) as independent variables. Model 2 also shows that job satisfaction significantly predicted turnover intention (β = 0.500). Interestingly, the model found age was negatively associated with job satisfaction.

Mediating effect of job satisfaction on the associations of career identity and hope with turnover intention

Figure  2 and Table  5 show the SEM results. The final model and standardized model paths are shown in Fig.  2 . The total effects, direct effects, and indirect effects are shown in Table 5 . The model had a good fit with the data: RMSEA = 0.076, GFI = 0.920, IFI = 0.950, TLI = 0.935, NFI = 0.943, CMIN/DF = 3.865.

Final model and standardized model paths. ADHSm: Hope; NCISm: career identity; OJSm: job satisfaction; ETm: Turnover; ADHS1: Agency thinking; ADHS2: Pathway thinking; NCIS1: Sense of grasp; NCIS2: Sense of consistency; NCIS3: Sense of significance; NCIS4: Sense of self efficacy; NCIS5: Sense of self decision; NCIS6: Sense of organization’s influence; NCIS7: Sense of patients’ influence; OJS1: General satisfaction; OJS2: Intrinsic satisfaction; OJS3: Extrinsic satisfaction; ET1: possibility to resign from present job; ET2: motivation to seek another job; ET3: possibility to gain an external job

As shown in Table 5 , both hope (β = − 0.10, for total effect)) and career identity (β = − 0.38, for total effect) had significant negative relationships with turnover intention. Figure 2 shows there was also a negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention (β = − 0.54). The results also indicated that the indirect effect (β = − 0.09) of hope on turnover intention was significant as well as its direct effect on job satisfaction (β = 0.16). These findings mean that higher hope was related to lower turnover intention and higher job satisfaction, and that job satisfaction completely mediated the relationship between hope and turnover intention.

The results for career identity indicated that it had significant indirect (β = − 0.33) and direct (β = − 0.05) effects on turnover intention as well as its direct effect on job satisfaction (β = 0.60). These findings mean that higher career identity was related to lower turnover intention and higher job satisfaction and that job satisfaction completely mediated the relationship between career identity and turnover intention.

Our study found that hope and career identity were negatively correlated with turnover intention, and that job satisfaction and turnover intention were negatively correlated. Job satisfaction plays a completely mediating role on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention.

The average score of the NTIS was 15.54 (SD = 3.77) in this study, and 78.3% of nurses held a strong or extremely strong turnover intention. These results indicate a higher turnover intention compared to those reported in other similar studies. According to Rudman et al. [ 47 ], the 5-year cumulative incidence of nurses who strongly intended to leave the profession in Sweden was 30%. In South Korea, the likelihood that new nursing school graduates would leave their first job within 3 years was 46% [ 48 ]. The WHO estimated in 2013, that 40% of nurses might leave their work within a decade [ 49 ]. The situation in China is also not optimistic. The turnover intention rate of village doctors was 36.8% in 2014 [ 50 ], and 45.3% of township health inspectors have been found to have medium to high turnover intention [ 15 ]. The mean job satisfaction of nurses in the present study was 20.71 (SD = 4.55), indicating that their job satisfaction was not very high, which is consistent with previous studies [ 51 , 52 ]. Ghawadra et al., for example, found that 41% of hospital nurses had low job satisfaction [ 17 ]. A study of nurses in Turkey found their job satisfaction was at a moderate level [ 10 ].

The level of turnover intention of nurses in our study was higher than that reported in many previous studies and their job satisfaction was lower. The reason for this may lie in the nature of our sample, which consisted of registered nurses working in comprehensive tertiary hospitals in Beijing. Comprehensive tertiary hospitals in the Chinese capital have a very large flow of patients who have various diseases that are difficult to treat. Furthermore, the hospitals in our study were all affiliated with a university. Therefore, the nurses had to shoulder the responsibility for teaching nursing students in addition to their regular nursing duties. Thus, it is likely their work was more intensive and stressful, which may lead to lower job satisfaction and high turnover intention. Many studies have demonstrated the effects of high workloads and heavy stress on job satisfaction and turnover intention [ 2 , 5 , 17 ], suggesting that nursing managers should pay more attention to these problems.

Our analyses revealed both career identity and hope were negatively associated with turnover intention. Career identity has a significant association with turnover intention, and it provides a type of intrinsic support. Nurses will devote more energy in and be more enthusiastic about their work when they positively identify with their careers. Career identity may help them to overcome the difficulties and problems that lead to dissatisfaction and strengthen their commitment to stay. Nurses with poor career identity usually tend to leave. Generally speaking, by improving employees’ professional identity, employees’ turnover intention can be effectively reduced. When employees believe that their work can create value and make sense to themselves, they have a higher sense of career identity, more investment and satisfaction with their work; Otherwise, when the career identity is low, employees will consider leaving their existing jobs when appropriate opportunities arise [ 53 , 54 ]. Furthermore, research has revealed that career identity can influence turnover intention through direct and indirect pathways [ 8 , 15 , 18 ]. Hope and career identity are expressions of intrinsic motivation, which explains why nurses with higher career identity tend to have a positive outlook towards work and retain their hope, thereby having positive effects on many aspects of professional development. A recent quantitative study found widespread pressure on the nurses who helped fight against COVID-19 in Hubei [ 55 ]. These nurses mainly had to stay alone in their rooms after work for the sake of safety. The professional identity and hope of nurses were particularly important in this psychological state of pressure and social isolation. Otherwise, this situation would have easily made them think of leaving.

The results of the SEM in our study showed that job satisfaction had a completely mediating effect on the association between career identity and turnover intention. This result is consistent with previous research that job satisfaction had an intermediary role in the relationship between career identity and turnover intention [ 15 ]. Job satisfaction is the key incentive variable that determines employees’ turnover intention behavior. In the workplace, employees conduct personal assessment of work characteristics and work environment to generate cognition, emotion and intention, so as to determine their positive or negative evaluation of the nature of work and even the company [ 56 , 57 ]. This study promotes the development of career identity literature by investigating the intermediary mechanism between career identity and turnover intention. Although early studies have concluded that job satisfaction is a key outcome variable in the process of professional identity [ 10 , 58 ], previous scholars rarely empirically tested the mediating role of job satisfaction in nurses. Our research shows that job satisfaction is an important way to connect career identity with turnover intention. In addition, we found job satisfaction was an intermediate variable between hope and turnover intention. A previous study showed that psychological capital had a medium to large indirect effect on employees’ turnover intention when hope was part of psychological capital [ 59 ]. These results suggest that we can take effective measures to enhance nurses’ hope and career identity so as to improve their job satisfaction and ultimately reduce their turnover intention.

Our study extends prior research results and provides nursing managers with suggestions for team building and management that have theoretical and practical significance. In the face of increasing demands on nurses, the nursing shortage, and proposals to increase the quality of nursing care, nursing managers need to think about how to reduce turnover, retain clinical nurses, and improve the quality of nursing. As discussed above, job satisfaction appears to reduce turnover intention, and to mediate the apparent effects of career identity and hope on turnover intention.

Career identity and hope can affect turnover intention directly and indirectly through job satisfaction. Strengthening career identity and improving hope are critical measures for nursing managers to improve nurses’ job satisfaction, lower turnover intention, and thereby reduce turnover rate and improve the quality of care. Career identity cognitively influences nurses’ attitudes about work. This influence begins when a student enters nursing education and continues throughout his/her working life [ 18 ]. Strengthening nurses’ career identity through educational programs is feasible because nurses who did not sufficiently develop career identities during their vocational education can still develop them [ 18 ]. In addition, colleges should pay more attention to instilling nursing students with career identity and nursing values [ 3 ]. The gap between college and clinical work is one of the reasons for the low level of career identity in newly graduated nurses. Providing them with adequate guidance and support, and enabling them to practice with confidence in a safe and proficient manner may increase their career identity with nursing during this transitional period.

The increased recognition of nurses’ practice is important for expanding the nursing workforce in the future. Hope is influenced by many factors, such as reward, workload, working conditions, doctor-nurse relationships, and management style. Management should increase nurses’ level of hope and job satisfaction in order to retain them by improving their working conditions [ 17 , 60 ]. This is cost-effective, since training nurses is costly and resources can be directed from being wasted efforts to productive activities [ 47 ]. Furthermore, providing nurses with more support, helping them find a spiritual foundation [ 17 ], and holding mindful activities that stimulate positive emotions are helpful for improving nurses’ level of hope. Of course, increasing one’s entire psychological capital is beneficial for having hope play a role in professional development.

Limitations

Our study has some limitations. First, though the sample was large and representative, the generalizability of its results is limited because the sample came from tertiary hospitals in Beijing, all of which were comprehensive teaching hospitals of medical colleges, and thus, these nurses may have characteristics that increase turnover intention. Therefore, further research should be conducted with samples taken from a broader population of nurses (such as nurses from other cities or hospitals of different grades). Second, though the current findings found job satisfaction mediated the association between hope and turnover intention, other variables may contribute to this effect (for instance, social support may influence the relationships among these variables). Future studies should explore other possible mediating variables to reach a more definitive conclusion. Last but not least, because the mediating effect implies causality, it is lack of sufficient persuasion to verify the mediating effect with cross-sectional data. Therefore, the mediating effect explored in this study needs further experimental verification.

The results of this study support the relationship among hope, career identity, job satisfaction and turnover intention, which guide the intervention measures driven by theory to solve the problem of high turnover intention of nursing staff and help to solve the shortage of nurses. Thus, we can take effective measures to enhance nurses’ hope and career identity in order to improve their job satisfaction and ultimately their turnover intention. Providing nurses with more support, helping them find a spiritual foundation, and holding mindful activities that stimulate positive emotions are helpful. In addition, colleges should pay more attention to instilling nursing students with career identity and nursing values.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement

World Health Organization

Structural Equation Model

Adult Dispositional Hope Scale

Nursing Career Identity Scale

Nurse Turnover Intention Scale

Statistical Product and Service Solutions

Standard Deviation

Corona Virus Disease-19

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the nurses who participated in the study.

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.72071004 & No.71601004, National Key R&D Program of China under Grant No.2020YFC2008805 & No.2020YFC2008800, and the Undergraduate Innovative Research Project under Grant No. BJMU-HL-201808D. The funders did not play any role in the study.

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Huiling Hu, Chongkun Wang, Yue Lan & Xue Wu

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CK, W; Y, L and X, W design the study. CK, W; Y, L and HL, H performed data collection and analysis. HL, H; CK, W and Y, L were major contributors in writing the manuscript and HL, H and X, W performed critical revisions for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Hu, H., Wang, C., Lan, Y. et al. Nurses’ turnover intention, hope and career identity: the mediating role of job satisfaction. BMC Nurs 21 , 43 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-00821-5

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Best Nursing Research Topics for Students

What is a nursing research paper.

• What They Include
• Choosing a Topic
• Best Nursing Research Topics
• Research Paper Writing Tips

Writing a research paper is a massive task that involves careful organization, critical analysis, and a lot of time. Some nursing students are natural writers, while others struggle to select a nursing research topic, let alone write about it.

If you're a nursing student who dreads writing research papers, this article may help ease your anxiety. We'll cover everything you need to know about writing nursing school research papers and the top topics for nursing research.  

Continue reading to make your paper-writing jitters a thing of the past.

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A nursing research paper is a work of academic writing composed by a nurse or nursing student. The paper may present information on a specific topic or answer a question.

During LPN/LVN and RN programs, most papers you write focus on learning to use research databases, evaluate appropriate resources, and format your writing with APA style. You'll then synthesize your research information to answer a question or analyze a topic.

BSN , MSN , Ph.D., and DNP programs also write nursing research papers. Students in these programs may also participate in conducting original research studies.

Writing papers during your academic program improves and develops many skills, including the ability to:

• Select nursing topics for research
• Conduct effective research
• Analyze published academic literature
• Format and cite sources
• Synthesize data
• Organize and articulate findings

About Nursing Research Papers

When do nursing students write research papers.

You may need to write a research paper for any of the nursing courses you take. Research papers help develop critical thinking and communication skills. They allow you to learn how to conduct research and critically review publications.

That said, not every class will require in-depth, 10-20-page papers. The more advanced your degree path, the more you can expect to write and conduct research. If you're in an associate or bachelor's program, you'll probably write a few papers each semester or term.

Do Nursing Students Conduct Original Research?

Most of the time, you won't be designing, conducting, and evaluating new research. Instead, your projects will focus on learning the research process and the scientific method. You'll achieve these objectives by evaluating existing nursing literature and sources and defending a thesis.

However, many nursing faculty members do conduct original research. So, you may get opportunities to participate in, and publish, research articles.

Example Research Project Scenario:

In your maternal child nursing class, the professor assigns the class a research paper regarding developmentally appropriate nursing interventions for the pediatric population. While that may sound specific, you have almost endless opportunities to narrow down the focus of your writing. 

You could choose pain intervention measures in toddlers. Conversely, you can research the effects of prolonged hospitalization on adolescents' social-emotional development.

What Does a Nursing Research Paper Include?

Your professor should provide a thorough guideline of the scope of the paper. In general, an undergraduate nursing research paper will consist of:

Introduction : A brief overview of the research question/thesis statement your paper will discuss. You can include why the topic is relevant.

Body : This section presents your research findings and allows you to synthesize the information and data you collected. You'll have a chance to articulate your evaluation and answer your research question. The length of this section depends on your assignment.

Conclusion : A brief review of the information and analysis you presented throughout the body of the paper. This section is a recap of your paper and another chance to reassert your thesis.

The best advice is to follow your instructor's rubric and guidelines. Remember to ask for help whenever needed, and avoid overcomplicating the assignment!

How to Choose a Nursing Research Topic

The sheer volume of prospective nursing research topics can become overwhelming for students. Additionally, you may get the misconception that all the 'good' research ideas are exhausted. However, a personal approach may help you narrow down a research topic and find a unique angle.

Writing your research paper about a topic you value or connect with makes the task easier. Additionally, you should consider the material's breadth. Topics with plenty of existing literature will make developing a research question and thesis smoother.

Finally, feel free to shift gears if necessary, especially if you're still early in the research process. If you start down one path and have trouble finding published information, ask your professor if you can choose another topic.

The Best Research Topics for Nursing Students

You have endless subject choices for nursing research papers. This non-exhaustive list just scratches the surface of some of the best nursing research topics.

1. Clinical Nursing Research Topics

• Analyze the use of telehealth/virtual nursing to reduce inpatient nurse duties.
• Discuss the impact of evidence-based respiratory interventions on patient outcomes in critical care settings.
• Explore the effectiveness of pain management protocols in pediatric patients.

2. Community Health Nursing Research Topics

• Assess the impact of nurse-led diabetes education in Type II Diabetics.
• Analyze the relationship between socioeconomic status and access to healthcare services.

3. Nurse Education Research Topics

• Review the effectiveness of simulation-based learning to improve nursing students' clinical skills.
• Identify methods that best prepare pre-licensure students for clinical practice.
• Investigate factors that influence nurses to pursue advanced degrees.
• Evaluate education methods that enhance cultural competence among nurses.
• Describe the role of mindfulness interventions in reducing stress and burnout among nurses.

4. Mental Health Nursing Research Topics

• Explore patient outcomes related to nurse staffing levels in acute behavioral health settings.
• Assess the effectiveness of mental health education among emergency room nurses .
• Explore de-escalation techniques that result in improved patient outcomes.
• Review the effectiveness of therapeutic communication in improving patient outcomes.

5. Pediatric Nursing Research Topics

• Assess the impact of parental involvement in pediatric asthma treatment adherence.
• Explore challenges related to chronic illness management in pediatric patients.
• Review the role of play therapy and other therapeutic interventions that alleviate anxiety among hospitalized children.

6. The Nursing Profession Research Topics

• Analyze the effects of short staffing on nurse burnout .
• Evaluate factors that facilitate resiliency among nursing professionals.
• Examine predictors of nurse dissatisfaction and burnout.
• Posit how nursing theories influence modern nursing practice.

Tips for Writing a Nursing Research Paper

The best nursing research advice we can provide is to follow your professor's rubric and instructions. However, here are a few study tips for nursing students to make paper writing less painful:

Avoid procrastination: Everyone says it, but few follow this advice. You can significantly lower your stress levels if you avoid procrastinating and start working on your project immediately.

Plan Ahead: Break down the writing process into smaller sections, especially if it seems overwhelming. Give yourself time for each step in the process.

Research: Use your resources and ask for help from the librarian or instructor. The rest should come together quickly once you find high-quality studies to analyze.

Outline: Create an outline to help you organize your thoughts. Then, you can plug in information throughout the research process. 

Clear Language: Use plain language as much as possible to get your point across. Jargon is inevitable when writing academic nursing papers, but keep it to a minimum.

Cite Properly: Accurately cite all sources using the appropriate citation style. Nursing research papers will almost always implement APA style. Check out the resources below for some excellent reference management options.

Revise and Edit: Once you finish your first draft, put it away for one to two hours or, preferably, a whole day. Once you've placed some space between you and your paper, read through and edit for clarity, coherence, and grammatical errors. Reading your essay out loud is an excellent way to check for the 'flow' of the paper.

Helpful Nursing Research Writing Resources:

Purdue OWL (Online writing lab) has a robust APA guide covering everything you need about APA style and rules.

Grammarly helps you edit grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Upgrading to a paid plan will get you plagiarism detection, formatting, and engagement suggestions. This tool is excellent to help you simplify complicated sentences.

Mendeley is a free reference management software. It stores, organizes, and cites references. It has a Microsoft plug-in that inserts and correctly formats APA citations.

Don't let nursing research papers scare you away from starting nursing school or furthering your education. Their purpose is to develop skills you'll need to be an effective nurse: critical thinking, communication, and the ability to review published information critically.

Choose a great topic and follow your teacher's instructions; you'll finish that paper in no time.

Joleen Sams is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner based in the Kansas City metro area. During her 10-year RN career, Joleen worked in NICU, inpatient pediatrics, and regulatory compliance. Since graduating with her MSN-FNP in 2019, she has worked in urgent care and nursing administration. Connect with Joleen on LinkedIn or see more of her writing on her website.

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Writing a Nursing Research Paper that Meets Professor's Requirements

As a nursing student, you will spend much time researching, reading, and writing papers. Many students find the entire process of writing research papers challenging.

Imagine on top of spending many hours in clinical practice shifts only to find yourself sparing more time researching and writing, not to mention the overwhelming information condensed in a few hours of in-class lecture sessions. Working shifts and studying while having family duties and obligations worsens it, and when done in a rush, you end up with subpar papers and average grades.

Even though many student nurses find writing research papers tricky and daunting, you can write a perfect paper that ticks all the checkboxes your professor uses to mark them and be sure to get an A+ grade on your nursing paper.

Our expert nursing research writers, who have written thousands of BSN, MSN, DNP, and Ph.D. papers, have compiled this comprehensive guide to help you write a strong nursing research paper that leaves a lasting impression on your professor.

Having marked many papers and supervised many theses, capstone projects, and dissertations, you can trust that the information herein is valuable and timely in your pursuit of nursing career success.

What is a Nursing Research Paper?

A nursing research paper is a scholarly and thesis-driven paper that a nursing student (at ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, or Ph.D. level) writes to comprehensively explore a specific nursing research topic either of their choice or one that the professor assigns.

To write a perfect research paper, the student has to provide concrete, reliable, and trustworthy evidence. In most cases, even professionals such as RNs undertaking clinical practice, nursing education training, clinical studies and evaluations, and nursing research can also write research papers published in journals or conferences to advance and disseminate nursing knowledge. The typical length of most nursing papers ranges from 5 pages to 20 pages, depending mainly on the complexity of the subject, the word count limits, and the requirements. Nurses and nursing students write research papers to share their insights as they learn more about nursing processes and practices. Nursing research papers are used to: document research, organize information, advance nursing scholarship, and improve the writing skills of nurses. Students in the USA, Australia, Japan, and Canada write their research papers in the American Psychological Association (APA) format, while those in Australia and the UK write them in Harvard formats. The research papers fall under three main categories:

• Analytical research papers. These papers present an analysis of the topic using evidence, facts, and examples.
• Argumentative research papers. These research papers are analytical but with a twist where the writer uses evidence to reinforce their opinion and persuade the reader.
• Expository research papers. This category of nursing research papers explains the subject matter using credible evidence such as examples, facts, statistics, and other pieces of evidence.

Structure and Format of a Nursing Research Paper

A simple nursing research paper, especially an expository or informative type, can have 5 paragraphs, like a typical essay. However, longer research papers have additional sections.

Scientific Nursing Research Paper Structure

Here is a breakdown of how a well-formatted and scientific nursing research paper should look like.

• Title Page. The title page comprises the research paper title, details of the student or professional writer, course details, details of the school or institution, and the date. The cover page is the first contact point with the reader. It is brief.
• Abstract. The abstract summarizes the nursing research paper. It is 200-250 words long and should be focused on what the reader expects. It is a condensed version of the paper, which is critical to help professors know what your paper is about. It should not have acronyms. Note that the word count of the abstract is not considered part of the research paper.
• The Introduction. The introduction should have an attention-getter or a hook that can be a statement, statistic, or fact. It should be 10% of the entire word count. It also has background information that details the nursing issue or topic you are exploring. It also comprises a well-thought-out thesis statement related to the topic. If you have a long paper, ensure that your problem and purpose statements are part of the introduction. It should also list your PICOT question .
• Literature Review. This is a critical section of the research paper. Here, you should explore other nursing scholars' thoughts and scholarly findings. Focus on peer-reviewed scholarly articles that address the same issue as your thesis statement or topic. Explore your topic's theories, theoretical frameworks, and other facts. Do it so well that your professor marvels at your research, organization, and writing prowess. Consider the levels of evidence as you choose selection criteria for the papers to include in your nursing literature review.
• Research Methodology. This section of the research paper details the data collection methods, such as ethnographic studies, secondary data collection, literature review, quasi-experimental research, correlational studies, descriptive research, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or experiments. Ensure that you state and give a rationale for your research design (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods). If you are writing a quantitative paper, explain how you tested the hypotheses. Also, report the sampling frame and the sampling strategy.
• Results and Discussion. This section of the paper presents the findings. You can use visual aids such as charts and graphs for a quantitative research paper. If you are writing a qualitative research paper, present the evidence chronologically. When presenting the findings, avoid making definitive facts. Instead, ensure that the results suggest something is true or false, even when testing a hypothesis.
• Conclusion and Recommendations. The conclusion should be 10% of the entire word count. You should restate the thesis and give a summary of your entire paper. Explore the recommendations for future research on the topic.
• Ensure that your reference list is arranged alphabetically. The list should adhere to the formatting requirements (Harvard, ASA, or APA formats). Only use scholarly peer-reviewed references.

Format for a General Nursing Research Paper

If you are writing a non-scientific nursing research paper, you will only have three sections as follows:

• Introduction. The introduction paragraph should introduce the topic by providing an attention-getter, background information, and a thesis statement.
• Body of the paper . The body paragraphs should have strong topic sentences, supporting details (examples, evidence, and explanation), and concluding sentences. It should also portray a good use of transition words. You should analyze the topic and use evidence to support the arguments, and give enough explanation. Use in-text citations within the body paragraphs.
• Conclusion. End the paper by recapping the main points, reasserting the thesis statement, and signaling the end of the paper to give your readers good closure.

An excellent nursing research paper follows this structure as long as it is not research-based. The three-part approach is super recommended if you did not conduct any study. In most cases, when assigned to write those 5-12 pages of nursing school research papers, you will be using this format.

So, what are the steps for writing a good nursing research paper? Let’s find out in the next section.

The 6 Main Steps for Writing a Nursing Research Paper

Writing assignments are an essential training aspect for nursing students. No wonder professors will stress that you write essays, discussion posts, responses, or proposals well. They are doing so to prepare you for research roles somewhere in your nursing career.

According to our most successful research paper writers, writing a top-grade research paper involves decoding the instructions, selecting a good topic, planning, researching, writing, and polishing the paper.

Here is a breakdown of each step for clarity and deeper understanding.

Step #1: Understand the Prompt or Instructions

You can only perfect what you know! Therefore, you can begin the research writing process by reading, analyzing, and understanding the instructions. It is an essential pre-writing stage process where you carefully read the instructions.

Although it sounds obvious, most nursing students who write off-topic and subpar research papers jump into writing without reading to understand the instructions.

You need to skim through the instructions on the first attempt, then read keenly and critically as you take note of the scope of the assignment, the topic, and other things you must fulfill in the paper. Take note of the:

• The number of words.
• Type of research paper (argumentative, analytical, exploratory, or persuasive).
• The structure of the paper (thesis-driven or research/study-based (scientific) research paper.
• The deadline.
• Whether you need to draft an outline.
• Reading materials.
• Whether you need external sources.
• Which sources to use and how many?
• The theoretical constructions or conceptual frameworks.
• The age limit of the scholarly sources.

If you need further clarification, ensure that you ask your peers, professor, or a professional writer in time.

Step #2: Select a Good Nursing Research Topic

Compared to average students, top nursing students always remember to select a research topic they are comfortable handling. When you are confident with a topic, you can develop it without procrastinating.

Sometimes you are given a list of nursing research paper topics, issues, and ideas to consider. Other times, you come up with the topic and consult your professor/educator for approval.  

Choose topics related to patient safety, nursing processes, nurse staffing, nursing policies, nurse privileges, nursing legislations, nursing ethics, mental health, health promotion, chronic disease management, healthcare systems, health informatics, changes in healthcare, and working conditions.

Choose any nursing topic that resonates with your specialization interests. It should be manageable, relevant, and explorable.

Related Readings:

• Nursing informatics research topics
• Capstone project ideas and topics for BSN, MSN, and DNP students
• Mental health nursing topics
• Epidemiology nursing topics
• List of the best nursing research paper topics
• Evidence-based nursing topics and ideas
• Nursing ethical dilemmas

Step #3: Plan your Paper

Create a thesis statement for your research paper if it is thesis-driven rather than study-based or scientific (experimental). After writing the thesis, like any of our nursing assignment slayers, write a good outline using Roman numbers and numbers.

List the ideas you wish to have in your paper in chronological order, starting with the introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs. As you outline, do some preliminary research so that you develop arguments the right way.

Include the in-text citations in your nursing research paper outline to simplify the writing process.

Step #4: Research and Organize Resources

Doing in-depth research as you refine the draft would be appropriate because you know what you want the paper to look like. Use scholarly nursing databases for research and limit yourself to topic-related scholarly articles published within the last 5 years.

You can read the abstracts of the articles to determine if they are fit to use in your paper. If you find the best articles, list them using online citation management tools such as RefWorks, Zotero, EndNote, Citefast, or any of your choice.

Ensure to list them in the most appropriate formatting styles. Take notes and list the points and ideas in your outline. Do your research meticulously and ensure that you organize the process to avoid any confusion.

Step #5: Write the First Draft

With the research, synthesis, and outline, you are now left with the chance to put rubber on the road. Use the Pomodoro technique, where you spend stretches of 25 minutes of focused work and have minor 5-minute breaks.

Ensure you cover as much ground in your research paper as possible before three-quarters of the deadline. When writing the paper, and considering that you have the outline, you can start chronologically from the introduction to the appendices.

Most research paper writing pros prefer working on the body section and conclusion before writing the introduction and finalizing the abstract. Whatever works best for you, adopt it. When writing the first draft, focus on piecing together the information rather than perfection.

Ensure you research lightly as you write and assert your voice while giving the right in-text citations for every idea you paraphrase from a source to avoid plagiarism. Each body paragraph should only have one idea.

Step #6: Edit, Proofread, and Polish the Paper

The final step towards completing your nursing research paper is ensuring everything is in its rightful place. A polished research paper scores 90% and above, which is an A. Begin by reading the paper aloud to identify areas that do not make sense.

If there is a need, do not hesitate to rewrite an entire section so that you have the right flow of information.

Check the grammatical, spelling, and syntax errors and make necessary corrections. You should also check the tenses used in the paper. If you feel like polishing the essay is too much work, you are better off hiring a nursing paper proofreader/editor.

When you receive feedback from your educator or professor, address the changes and resend the paper for grading.

Related Reading: How to write an evidence-based nursing paper.

Valuable Tips to Consider as You Write Your Nursing Research Paper

Nursing schools and educators have their standards and guidelines for writing a research paper. Therefore, ensure that before everything else, you familiarize yourself and adhere to these instructions, which include word count and citation styles.

Do not assume anything when writing a paper. You should also access and understand suggestions from your school’s writing lab. Apart from these essential tips, also ensure that you follow the insights we give below:

• Write your paper using a formal tone. Do not use passive voice when writing the paper. Instead, use active voice.
• Your paper should have a good organization from the introduction to the conclusion.
• Whenever you borrow ideas from a scholarly source, ensure you cite them correctly.
• Have a well-thought-out thesis statement that clarifies your arguments.
• Create a complete outline during the early stages of writing. It gives you a roadmap to follow as you write the paper. Organize the ideas chronologically based on their strength and weaknesses.
• Have a plan and schedule to trace your progress with the paper.
• If you have a more extended deadline, contribute to your research paper daily.
• When writing the paper, start with the body, the conclusion, and the introduction last.
• If you are writing a study-based research paper, include the literature review, methodology, discussion, and conclusion sections per the IMRAD format. A general nursing research paper follows the essay structure: introduction, body section, and conclusion.
• Use peer-reviewed scholarly sources from CINAHL, PubMed, Nursing Reference Center, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and other nursing research databases with peer-reviewed articles. Credible sources mean your research paper has rigor since you have strong points.
• Proofread and edit the paper thoroughly to remove any mistakes to signal your seriousness to your professor. If possible, use professional editing services.
• Have a compelling conclusion that is elaborate, clear, and concise.
• Read your paper aloud to identify mistakes.
• Revise the paper, and do not fear rewriting an entire section.

When writing a research paper, adhere to the writing conventions. You should also read well and understand how to communicate through academic writing effectively. Your paper should document evidence that supports your arguments and topic.

Write concisely, coherently, and accurately. It is not all in vain; you are training for your future role as a nurse when you will write conference papers, white papers, essays, policy documents, letters, blog posts, and professional nursing articles.

Checklist for a Great Research Paper in Nursing

Now that you have written your paper, you must align a few things to make it the best your professor will read. Most nursing classes, especially at the graduate levels (MSN, DNP, and Ph.D. levels), have small class sizes, and the professors spend time reading the papers from start to end. This means that you should leave nothing to chance.

Nursing research asserts professional identity, ensures accountability in nursing decision-making, and expands nursing practice. You have to be meticulous when writing a research paper in nursing.

A good research paper demonstrates a complete understanding of nursing knowledge, topic exploration, advanced organization, proper formatting, and mature academic writing skills. The following checklist enlists some main aspects to countercheck before hitting the submit button.

• Have I followed all the instructions outlined in the assignment prompt or rubric?
• Does my paper have the right title page?
• Does the paper have a written title that resonates with the thesis and the research question?
• Is the introduction presenting an attention grabber, background information, and a signpost of the ideas in the paper?
• Is the thesis statement well-thought-out, clear, concise, and elaborate?
• Is the problem statement clearly stated?
• If it is a PICOT-based research paper, is the PICO question well-outlined?
• Does the paper touch well on the nursing issue that the topic needs it to address?
• Is there a logical flow of the paragraphs?
• Are the words in each paragraph balanced?
• Does the paper have correctly formatted headings and subheadings?
• Are the in-text citations done correctly and consistently?
• Does every paragraph in the body of the paper build on the thesis?
• Does the paper demonstrate a mature choice of words and uses nursing lingo?
• Is the literature review section comprehensive? Does it have a theoretical and conceptual framework or constructs?
• Are the data and information presented in the literature review current?
• Has the methodology section listed the sample, sampling strategy, data collection and analyses, and rationale for each?
• Does the discussion section interlink the concepts from the literature review with the findings?
• Does the conclusion offer good closure to the readers? Does it restate the thesis? Does it summarize the recommendations?
• Is the entire paper formatted correctly? Does it follow the formatting guidelines?
• Is the paper devoid of spelling, syntax, and mechanical mistakes?

If your answer to all these questions is a resounding YES, you are sure it will fetch your professor a good grade. Our nursing writers, most of whom are alumni from top nursing universities and colleges such as Chamberlain, Capella, Herzing, Vanderbilt, SFU, Rutgers, Yale, Duke, NYU, UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, University of Toronto, McGill, Ottawa, Queens, and other best colleges in the USA, UK, Canada, and many other places. Besides, they are nursing educators in different capacities, and a couple are nursing professors with big titles; you can trust the checklist to guarantee you an excellent grade.

Where to Get Help When Writing Research Paper

As a nursing student, writing a research paper is something you will most likely enjoy doing. However, unforeseen things happen, prompting you to search the internet for sites to help you do your nursing research paper. NurseMyGrade.com is one such place to pay a nursing writer to do your paper.

Expect a paper that meets all the requirements, is written by a human rather than AI software, and is uniquely tailored to your requirements.  Our rates are affordable, and our writers cover diverse fields. Apart from offering advice about research, writing, and formatting papers, we have resourceful writers whom we allow you to communicate directly with via our platform.

We also maintain high levels of secrecy because we care more about your privacy and confidentiality of your details. Not even your professor can tell you got help from our website because we advise on specific strategies to use the paper. We have assisted students in various levels of nursing education with their writing, and we can do yours too.

Get affordable, well-researched, formatted, and organized nursing research papers done for you today by filling out the order form. Nursing research papers are a chance to stand out. Let our professionals help you achieve your nursing school goals.

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Nursing Research Paper

Sample Nursing Research Paper. Browse other research paper examples and check the list of nursing research paper topics for more inspiration. If you need a research paper written according to all academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Also, check out our custom research paper writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments at reasonable rates.

This sample nursing research paper provides a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted nursing profession, examining its historical development, theoretical foundations, and the current state of nursing education and practice. The paper delves into the evolution of nursing roles, the impact of significant figures in the field, and the progression towards advanced nursing practices. It also scrutinizes the ethical and legal frameworks that govern nursing, highlighting the importance of these considerations in daily practice. Furthermore, it discusses the challenges and opportunities that the future holds for nursing, including technological advancements, changes in healthcare delivery, and the ongoing development of nursing as a profession. Through a synthesis of scholarly literature, this paper aims to offer a nuanced understanding of the critical role nurses play in healthcare and the dynamic nature of nursing as it adapts to meet the changing needs of society.

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This sample nursing research paper seeks to clarify the domain of nursing within the broader context of healthcare, charting its historical progression and delineating the contemporary role of nurses within healthcare systems. Nursing, traditionally rooted in care and compassion, has evolved into a complex, evidence-based discipline integral to healthcare delivery (Alligood, 2017). Its domain extends beyond bedside care into realms of research, policy, and education, reflecting a breadth of influence on patient outcomes and healthcare efficacy.

The historical trajectory of nursing is rich and varied, with its modern form shaped significantly by the pioneering work of figures such as Florence Nightingale, whose emphasis on sanitary conditions during the Crimean War set a precedent for the integration of environmental factors in patient care (Dossey, 2010). As the profession has developed, so too have the educational and regulatory frameworks that support it, transitioning from informal apprenticeships to advanced degree programs and licensure requirements (Judd & Sitzman, 2014).

In contemporary healthcare systems, nurses function as the linchpin of patient services, providing not only direct patient care but also engaging in health promotion, disease prevention, and advocacy across a variety of settings. Their roles have expanded to include leadership positions where they influence healthcare policies and contribute to interdisciplinary teams aimed at improving healthcare quality and accessibility (Institute of Medicine, 2010). The role of nurses continues to adapt, driven by changes in healthcare needs, advances in medical knowledge, and shifts in societal expectations.

More Nursing Research Papers:

• Nursing Approaches to Pain Management
• Nursing Interventions for Chronic Illnesses
• Geriatric Care Challenges in Nursing
• The Role of Nursing in Mental Health Treatment
• Occupational Health and Safety for Nurses
• Emergency Nursing Procedures and Protocols
• Oncology Nursing and Patient Support
• Nursing Ethics in Genetic Counseling
• The Impact of Nursing on Hospital Readmissions
• Trauma and Critical Care Nursing Practices

Historical Context of Nursing

Influential figures have been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of nursing. Florence Nightingale, often revered as the pioneer of modern nursing, introduced principles of hygiene and sanitation during the Crimean War, dramatically reducing mortality rates (McDonald, 2001). Her subsequent establishment of the first secular nursing school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London set the foundation for formal nursing education. Another seminal figure, Clara Barton, known for her role in founding the American Red Cross, emphasized the importance of nursing in public health and disaster response (Pryor, 1988). These pioneers not only advanced nursing practice but also elevated the status of nursing to a respected profession.

The emergence and development of nursing education and professional standards have further defined nursing as a critical component of the healthcare system. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the establishment of nursing schools that not only imparted technical skills but also instilled a professional ethos. The American Nurses Association, formed in 1911, and the International Council of Nurses, established in 1899, began setting professional standards and advocating for the rights of nurses and the nursing profession worldwide (Dock & Stewart, 1938). As the 20th century progressed, nursing education expanded to universities, embracing scientific research and evidence-based practice, which has continued to elevate the profession’s standards and scope of practice.

Theoretical Foundations of Nursing

The theoretical underpinnings of nursing serve as the scaffolding for the profession, offering guidance and a framework for nursing practice, research, and education. Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory, which emphasizes the importance of the patient’s environment in healing, laid the groundwork for modern nursing theory (Nightingale, 1860). Subsequent nursing theories have expanded on this foundation, integrating concepts from health, personhood, environment, and nursing itself. For instance, Virginia Henderson’s Need Theory focuses on the nurse’s role in assisting patients to achieve independence and wholeness through the fulfillment of basic human needs (Henderson, 1966).

The utilization of these theories in clinical practice is not merely academic; it directly influences patient care. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, for instance, centers on the relationship between patient and nurse and proposes that caring can promote health better than a simple medical cure (Watson, 1979). This theory has been employed in various healthcare settings, shaping patient-nurse interactions by fostering a holistic approach to care that encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

The progression from basic nursing practice to advanced practice is also deeply intertwined with theoretical knowledge. Advanced practice nurses, including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse anesthetists, draw upon a rich theoretical foundation to inform their decision-making and practice. For example, Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory outlines the stages of clinical competence, providing a framework for the continual growth and development that characterize the journey from novice nurse to expert practitioner (Benner, 1984). This theoretical model not only guides nurses in their personal professional development but also underscores the value of experience and education in delivering high-quality, nuanced patient care.

In essence, nursing theories are not static constructs but are dynamic and integral to the ongoing development of nursing as a science and an art. They provide a lens through which nurses can understand their practice, contribute to patient outcomes, and advance the field of nursing.

Nursing Education and Professional Development

Educational pathways and licensing for nurses.

The educational journey for nurses is a cornerstone of the healthcare profession, ensuring that the individuals caring for patients possess the necessary knowledge and skills. This journey typically begins with foundational programs that lead to initial licensure. Prospective nurses may choose between several educational pathways, such as diploma programs, which historically were the most common route, associate degree programs (ADN), which offer a balance of time-efficiency and thorough preparation, and bachelor’s degree programs in nursing (BSN), which have become increasingly favored in recent years (Institute of Medicine, 2010). The BSN programs, in particular, are gaining prominence due to research indicating that a higher level of education among nursing staff is correlated with better patient outcomes, including lower mortality rates and improved quality of care (Aiken et al., 2014). Following the completion of these academic programs, graduates must successfully pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN for registered nurses) to practice as licensed professionals. This examination serves as a critical gatekeeper, ensuring that all practicing nurses meet a standardized competency level to provide safe and effective patient care.

Ongoing Education and Areas of Specialization within Nursing

The field of nursing is one characterized by lifelong learning, with ongoing education seen as both a professional responsibility and a personal commitment to excellence in patient care. Advanced practice nurses (APNs), including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives, often require a master’s degree (MSN) or doctoral degrees (DNP or PhD) to specialize and practice independently or in advanced roles (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Specialized areas such as pediatrics, gerontology, oncology, and cardiac care not only require advanced knowledge but also specific clinical skills that are often acquired through additional certification programs and clinical practice hours. These specialized roles are integral to the healthcare system, providing targeted care that addresses the specific needs of diverse patient populations. The demand for specialization is anticipated to grow, particularly as healthcare becomes more complex and the population ages, necessitating a workforce adept in specialized care (Buerhaus et al., 2017).

Influence of Professional Nursing Organizations on Career Advancement

The role of professional nursing organizations is pivotal in fostering a nurse’s career development. These organizations, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA), Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), and the International Council of Nurses (ICN), provide members with access to a wealth of resources that are essential for professional growth and development. They offer opportunities for continuing education, professional networking, and leadership development, all of which are critical for career advancement (Matthews, 2012). In addition to educational benefits, these organizations advocate for the profession’s interests, influencing policy and legislation that affect nursing practice and healthcare delivery. Active participation in these organizations can elevate a nurse’s professional profile, open doors to leadership positions, and contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession as a whole.

In conclusion, nursing education and professional development are essential components of a robust healthcare system. As the demands of healthcare evolve, so too must the educational and professional development opportunities available to nurses. Ensuring that nurses have access to quality education and ongoing professional development is critical not only for their personal career advancement but also for the provision of high-quality patient care.

Ethical and Legal Considerations in Nursing

The practice of nursing is deeply entrenched in ethical and legal principles that guide the profession in providing safe, compassionate, and competent care to patients. Nursing ethics, a subset of bioethics, involves dilemmas and decisions nurses must navigate in their daily practice, often relating to issues such as patient autonomy, informed consent, confidentiality, and the allocation of healthcare resources (Fry & Johnstone, 2002). Nurses are commonly faced with ethical issues like end-of-life care decisions, handling cases of potential abuse, and respecting patients’ wishes even when they conflict with the family’s desires or the healthcare team’s opinions (ANA, 2015).

Legal responsibilities in nursing practice are equally important, as nurses must operate within the boundaries of the law to protect their patients, themselves, and their employers. In the United States, for instance, nurses must adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which governs the confidentiality and security of patient health information (Annas, 2003). Furthermore, nurses are legally obligated to report any suspected abuse or neglect and must maintain a high standard of care to avoid negligence claims.

The critical nature of ethical decision-making and adherence to legal standards in nursing cannot be overstated. Ethical decision-making models can assist nurses in systematically approaching difficult decisions, allowing them to consider all aspects of a situation before taking action (Butts & Rich, 2013). The American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics provides a foundational framework for nurses to carry out their responsibilities in a manner consistent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession (ANA, 2015).

In essence, the convergence of ethics and law in nursing practice serves as the bedrock upon which the integrity of the profession stands. It is imperative for nurses to continually educate themselves on ethical principles and legal requirements, which are ever-changing as societal norms evolve and new health care laws and regulations emerge.

Nursing Practice and Patient Care

Nursing practice encompasses a broad range of responsibilities that vary significantly across different healthcare environments. In hospitals, nurses are involved in direct patient care, administering medications, monitoring vital signs, and collaborating with physicians to provide comprehensive care plans (Blegen, Goode, & Spetz, 2013). In community settings, nurses may focus more on health promotion and disease prevention, conducting screenings, and educational programs. In long-term care facilities, nurses often manage chronic conditions, support rehabilitation, and provide end-of-life care. The scope of practice is also influenced by state laws and licensure requirements, which delineate the level of autonomy a nurse has in performing procedures and making clinical decisions (Huston, 2013).

Nursing care methodologies are guided by the principles of evidence-based practice, which involves integrating clinical expertise with the best available evidence and patient preferences (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). This approach ensures that nursing interventions are not only scientifically sound but also tailored to individual patient needs. For instance, patient-centered care models emphasize the importance of understanding the patient’s experience and values, leading to personalized care plans that can result in higher patient satisfaction and better adherence to treatment recommendations.

The impact of nursing on patient care outcomes is well-documented. Research has consistently shown that higher staffing levels of nurses with baccalaureate education are associated with lower rates of hospital-acquired conditions, such as infections, falls, and pressure ulcers, and lower patient mortality rates (Aiken et al., 2014). Furthermore, the presence of advanced practice nurses, such as nurse practitioners, has been associated with improved management of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, leading to better patient outcomes (Kleinpell et al., 2014).

In conclusion, the scope of nursing practice is diverse, adapting to the unique demands of various healthcare settings. Nursing care methodologies grounded in evidence-based practice are fundamental to delivering high-quality care. The positive effects of nursing on patient care outcomes underline the importance of investing in a well-educated nursing workforce and supporting nurses in their practice to ensure optimal patient care.

Advanced Nursing Practice

Responsibilities of advanced practice nurses (apns).

Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are registered nurses who have achieved advanced levels of education and training. Their responsibilities extend well beyond those of a registered nurse (RN) and are characterized by a higher degree of clinical autonomy and expertise. Nurse Practitioners (NPs), one of the four primary APN roles, provide a full spectrum of healthcare services, including the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic illnesses. Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) offer expertise in specialized areas such as oncology, pediatrics, or geriatrics, and focus on improving health care systems and outcomes. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) provide anesthesia and related care before, during, and after surgical procedures, while Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) offer primary care for women, including gynecological and obstetric services (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2006).

APNs are expected to lead initiatives to improve health care quality and patient safety. They are involved in developing and implementing evidence-based practices, conducting research, and contributing to health policy. In primary care settings, NPs often serve as patients’ primary healthcare provider, coordinating care, counseling on preventive health measures, and managing overall patient wellness. This level of responsibility has proven particularly vital in rural and underserved urban areas, where APNs frequently serve as the most accessible health care providers (Stanley, 2005).

The Role of APNs in Healthcare Delivery and Patient Outcomes

The contribution of APNs to healthcare delivery is substantial, with research consistently demonstrating positive patient outcomes under their care. Studies have shown that patients under the care of NPs often experience lower hospital readmission rates, shorter hospital stays, and higher satisfaction with care. Similarly, CNSs have been shown to significantly improve patient outcomes through their expert interventions and system changes in specialty and acute care settings (Begley et al., 2010).

The role of APNs extends into the management of chronic diseases, where their patient-centered approach and emphasis on education and self-care have resulted in improved management of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and respiratory diseases. Their unique blend of clinical expertise and holistic care aligns well with contemporary healthcare delivery models that emphasize patient engagement and chronic disease management (Kaplan & Brown, 2017).

Regulatory Considerations for APNs

The regulatory framework for APNs is complex and varies by jurisdiction. In the United States, for example, the scope of practice for APNs is determined at the state level, leading to a patchwork of regulations that can vary widely. Some states grant “full practice” status, allowing APNs to evaluate patients; diagnose, initiate, and manage treatments; and prescribe medications independently. Other states have “reduced” or “restricted” practice, requiring collaboration, supervision, or team management by another health provider, such as a physician (Pearson, 2015).

Ongoing debates regarding the scope of practice for APNs often center on patient safety, access to care, and the utilization of the full capabilities of APNs. Proponents of expanding APN practice authority argue that such measures are essential to address the shortage of primary care providers, especially in underserved areas. Conversely, opponents express concerns about ensuring consistent quality of care across diverse healthcare settings (Auerbach et al., 2012).

As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, it is likely that the roles and regulations governing APNs will also change. The future may see a greater harmonization of scope-of-practice laws to reflect the growing body of evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of APN care. Professional organizations like the AACN and the American Nurses Association (ANA) continue to advocate for the removal of practice barriers for APNs, emphasizing the need for healthcare policy to adapt to the modern realities of healthcare delivery and to optimize the contributions of these skilled professionals.

In summary, Advanced Practice Nurses hold crucial roles in the healthcare delivery system, with their advanced clinical skills and education significantly impacting patient care outcomes. As the demand for high-quality healthcare increases, the responsibilities and autonomy of APNs are likely to expand, necessitating a regulatory environment that supports their full contribution to patient care.

Challenges and Opportunities in Nursing

The nursing profession, while deeply rewarding, is not without its challenges. Contemporary issues in nursing span a variety of complex and interrelated themes, from addressing the nursing shortage to managing the stress and burnout associated with increasingly high patient loads and administrative duties (Kovner, Brewer, & Djukic, 2009). The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted these challenges, placing unprecedented demands on nurses and the healthcare system at large.

Despite these challenges, the future of nursing is ripe with potential for innovation and growth. Technological advancements are rapidly transforming healthcare, and with it, the nursing profession. Telehealth, electronic health records, and advanced medical devices are creating new realms of practice and opportunities for improving patient care. Nurses are poised to play a crucial role in the integration and optimization of these technologies within healthcare delivery (Risling, 2017).

The prospects for professional growth and leadership within nursing are also expanding. There is a growing recognition of the need for nurses to occupy decision-making roles in healthcare policy and administration. Leadership programs and doctoral education, including the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, are preparing nurses to lead change in healthcare, ensuring that nurses have a voice in shaping the policies and practices that affect their profession and the care of their patients (Institute of Medicine, 2010).

Furthermore, the push towards interprofessional education and collaborative practice models is creating new avenues for nurses to lead in the coordination of patient care. As patient advocates and care coordinators, nurses are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap among various healthcare disciplines, contributing to more holistic, patient-centered care (Institute of Medicine, 2010).

Nurses are also expanding their roles in public health, community outreach, and global health initiatives, addressing broader social determinants of health and working to reduce health disparities. The expertise of nurses in health promotion, disease prevention, and emergency preparedness is increasingly vital in the face of global health challenges such as pandemics, climate change, and population aging (Kovner et al., 2009).

In conclusion, while nursing faces a set of substantial challenges, the profession is also presented with numerous opportunities for innovation, growth, and leadership. The future will likely see nurses stepping into more diverse roles, leveraging technology to improve patient care, and taking on greater leadership in health policy and system design. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, the nursing profession will remain an indispensable pillar, adapting to meet the changing needs of patients and communities worldwide.

Global Nursing and Healthcare

Nursing’s role in global health is both vast and essential, encompassing a wide range of activities from direct patient care to participation in policy development and implementation. Nurses are often at the forefront of international health initiatives, working with communities to address health concerns, improve access to care, and reduce health disparities. Their involvement is crucial in areas such as infectious disease control, maternal and child health, and non-communicable disease management. Global health nursing not only refers to the work done by nurses within their own countries but also includes their contributions on an international scale, such as through humanitarian relief efforts or health education programs in low-resource settings (Benton, Ferguson, & Pérez, 2016).

International nursing standards and practices are developed to ensure a consistent and high-quality level of nursing care across different countries and healthcare systems. These standards, often set by professional nursing organizations like the International Council of Nurses (ICN), guide the education, licensure, and practice of nurses globally. They serve as a framework for the delivery of culturally sensitive and evidence-based care and are integral to the advancement of the nursing profession worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) also contributes to setting global standards for nursing and midwifery, recognizing the critical role these professionals play in achieving international health goals (World Health Organization, 2020).

Cultural competence in nursing is increasingly recognized as a critical component of healthcare delivery in a globalized world. As populations become more diverse, nurses must be equipped with the skills and knowledge to provide care that respects cultural differences and values. This includes understanding how cultural backgrounds can influence health beliefs, practices, and patient interactions. Developing cultural competence involves a combination of education, self-awareness, and experiential learning, and is an ongoing process. Culturally competent nurses are better able to establish trust with patients, leading to improved health outcomes and patient satisfaction (Campinha-Bacote, 2011).

In summary, the impact of nursing on global health is profound and multifaceted. Nurses contribute significantly to healthcare delivery in diverse cultural contexts, and their role in the international healthcare landscape continues to expand. As they advocate for and implement global health initiatives, nurses are also instrumental in setting international standards and practices. Moreover, cultural competence remains a critical skill for nurses as they navigate the complexities of a global patient population. The future of global nursing is one of increased interconnectivity, cultural understanding, and collaboration across borders to meet the health challenges of the 21st century.

Nursing Leadership and Administration

Leadership theories applicable to nursing.

Leadership within nursing is not just a positional role but a pivotal function that influences healthcare delivery at all levels. Various leadership theories have been adapted to the nursing context to promote effective management and guide professional practice. Transformational leadership, which fosters an inspiring vision and encourages team members to exceed their own interests for the sake of the group or organization, is particularly resonant in nursing (Doody & Doody, 2012). This leadership style aligns well with the collaborative nature of healthcare, encouraging nurses to take initiative and contribute innovatively to patient care. Similarly, servant leadership, which emphasizes the leader’s role as a caretaker who prioritizes the needs of others, including team members and patients, is another model that has proven effective in nursing settings. It promotes a people-first approach, crucial in the patient-centered environment of healthcare.

Management of Healthcare Teams and Resources by Nurses

Nurse leaders are responsible for the management of healthcare teams, often navigating complex dynamics to ensure cohesive and efficient functioning. Effective team management involves conflict resolution, delegation, communication, and advocacy. Nurse administrators also play a critical role in resource management, which includes staffing, budgeting, and ensuring that the clinical setting is equipped to provide high-quality care (Marquis & Huston, 2015). They must be adept at balancing fiscal responsibility with the ethical imperative to provide the best possible patient care, which can involve making tough decisions about resource allocation in a healthcare landscape often characterized by scarcity and competing needs.

Strategic Planning for Nursing Quality Improvement

Strategic planning in nursing is essential to foster quality improvement and advance healthcare goals. Nurse leaders are integral to this process, as they help to set objectives, outline strategies, and implement plans that aim to improve patient outcomes and care delivery processes. Quality improvement in nursing can encompass a wide array of initiatives, from reducing hospital-acquired infections to improving patient satisfaction scores or streamlining discharge processes. Through the use of quality improvement models such as Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles or Six Sigma, nurse leaders can systematically analyze current practices, identify areas for improvement, and measure the impact of implemented changes (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2012).

In summary, nursing leadership and administration are critical to the functioning and advancement of healthcare services. Nurse leaders and administrators must be well-versed in leadership theories that can be applied effectively within healthcare environments. They are tasked with the important responsibilities of managing diverse healthcare teams, efficiently utilizing resources, and leading strategic initiatives for quality improvement. As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, the roles of nurse leaders and administrators become increasingly vital in shaping the future of patient care and nursing practice.

Technology and Innovation in Nursing

The integration of information technology into healthcare has had a transformative effect on the nursing profession. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have become a standard in modern healthcare facilities, significantly impacting the way nurses manage and record patient care. EHRs enhance communication between healthcare providers, improve access to patient information, and facilitate more accurate and efficient documentation (Hebda & Czar, 2013). Moreover, information technology has streamlined many processes, such as medication ordering and lab results retrieval, reducing the potential for errors and allowing nurses more time for direct patient care.

Telehealth has emerged as a rapidly expanding sector within nursing, propelled by advances in technology and the need for accessible healthcare. Telehealth nursing allows patients to receive care remotely, increasing access for those in rural or underserved areas. It also enables continuous patient monitoring and management of chronic conditions, improving patient outcomes while reducing hospital visits and readmissions (Rutledge et al., 2017). For nurses, telehealth has opened new roles and responsibilities, including serving as telehealth coordinators or specialists, requiring them to develop new skill sets for the effective delivery of remote care.

Innovation in nursing care is continually advancing, with new technologies being applied to improve patient outcomes and nursing workflows. Wearable health devices and sensors can now provide real-time data on patient vitals, allowing for immediate interventions when necessary. Robotics in nursing, although still in its early stages, is beginning to assist in tasks ranging from patient transport to surgery, potentially revolutionizing the future of nursing practice. Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) applications in nursing are being explored for their ability to analyze vast amounts of health data to assist in clinical decision-making (Topol, 2019).

In conclusion, technology and innovation are driving significant changes in nursing practice, offering opportunities to enhance patient care and improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery. As the adoption of these technologies continues to grow, nursing education and professional development programs will need to evolve to equip nurses with the necessary competencies to thrive in a technologically advanced healthcare environment.

Public Health and Community Nursing

Community health nursing is a vital branch of nursing that focuses on the health needs of entire populations. It operates on the principles of social justice, equity, and the social determinants of health, aiming to provide and improve access to care, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. This practice is characterized by a holistic approach that considers the multifaceted aspects of health, including physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors. Community health nurses work in various settings, from schools and community centers to homes and neighborhood clinics, delivering care that is culturally sensitive and tailored to the specific needs of the community (Maurer & Smith, 2013). They engage in comprehensive care that includes health education, advocacy, and policy development to facilitate environments that promote good health.

Nurses play an integral role in public health initiatives, often serving as the primary link between healthcare systems and communities. They are involved in designing and implementing programs that target major public health concerns such as infectious diseases, obesity, substance abuse, and mental health. Their involvement is not limited to the provision of direct care but also includes policy advocacy and collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations to address health disparities and influence health policy (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015). Public health nurses may also participate in emergency preparedness and response, playing critical roles in managing and mitigating the effects of natural disasters, epidemics, and bioterrorism threats.

The strategies employed by nurses in disease prevention and health promotion are grounded in evidence-based practice and public health science. Nurses conduct screenings and immunization clinics, provide counseling and education on healthy lifestyle choices, and support chronic disease management programs. They also utilize community assessment techniques to identify health risks and develop targeted interventions that can prevent disease and promote health across populations (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2014). By focusing on prevention, nurses contribute to the reduction of healthcare costs and the burden of disease, ultimately improving the overall health and well-being of the communities they serve.

In conclusion, public health and community nursing are essential components of the healthcare system, emphasizing prevention, health promotion, and the well-being of populations. Nurses in this field are advocates, educators, and leaders in health initiatives, committed to improving community health and shaping health policies. As society continues to face complex health challenges, the role of public health and community nurses will remain critical in fostering healthy and resilient communities.

Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice

The role of research in nursing practice development.

Research in nursing is pivotal for the development and enhancement of nursing practice. It forms the backbone of clinical decision-making, ensuring that nursing care is based on the latest and most reliable evidence. Engaging in research activities empowers nurses to validate and refine existing knowledge and to discover new insights into patient care, disease management, health promotion, and prevention (Polit & Beck, 2017). Moreover, nursing research drives the profession forward by fostering a culture of inquiry and lifelong learning among nurses. It enables practitioners to stay abreast of advancements in healthcare, thereby continually improving practices and patient care outcomes. This dedication to research also helps elevate the nursing profession by demonstrating the complexity and scientific rigor involved in nursing practice, which is critical for gaining recognition and respect from interdisciplinary team members and stakeholders.

Research Methods in Nursing

Nursing research encompasses a variety of methods tailored to the specific questions being addressed. Quantitative research methods, such as experimental and quasi-experimental designs, provide a means to test hypotheses and establish causal relationships. Surveys and epidemiological studies are also common quantitative methods that allow for the examination of trends, attitudes, and the prevalence of health-related issues within populations. On the other hand, qualitative research methods, including phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography, enable researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the human experience related to health, illness, and nursing care (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). These methodologies can reveal the complexities of patient behaviors, the meanings individuals ascribe to health experiences, and the social context of health and illness.

Mixed-methods research, which combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches, has gained popularity in nursing research. This methodological approach provides a comprehensive perspective, allowing for the exploration of multifaceted health phenomena. It enables nurse researchers to address research questions with a broader scope, enhancing the depth and breadth of understanding required to inform practice. By employing a mixed-methods approach, researchers can corroborate findings across different methods, increasing the validity and reliability of the results (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).

Application of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing

The application of evidence-based practice (EBP) is a hallmark of modern nursing care. EBP involves a systematic process of appraising and incorporating the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences. It is an ongoing, dynamic process that requires the ability to ask relevant clinical questions, search for and critically appraise the literature, implement appropriate interventions, and evaluate outcomes (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). The use of EBP allows nurses to provide care that is not only scientifically justified but also aligned with the values and needs of patients, resulting in higher quality and more personalized care.

Nursing education programs now emphasize the importance of EBP, equipping future nurses with the skills needed to integrate research findings into their clinical practice. Furthermore, many healthcare organizations have developed EBP guidelines and protocols to standardize care and ensure that all patients receive the most effective treatments. Nurse leaders and managers play a critical role in fostering an organizational culture that values EBP, by providing resources, facilitating training, and encouraging the dissemination and implementation of research findings.

Healthcare organizations that prioritize EBP often establish dedicated roles or departments focused on research and quality improvement. These departments work to translate research findings into practice, develop policies, and evaluate the impact of care interventions on patient outcomes. They also collaborate with academic institutions and research organizations to conduct clinical trials and other research studies within the clinical setting.

Challenges and Future Directions in Nursing Research and EBP

Despite the recognized value of EBP, there are several challenges to its full integration into nursing practice. These include a lack of time, limited access to research resources, and insufficient training in research methods and critical appraisal skills. Addressing these barriers is crucial for the advancement of nursing practice and requires a concerted effort from educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and the nursing profession itself.

The future of nursing research and EBP is promising, with advancements in technology providing new avenues for research dissemination and education. Online databases, digital libraries, and mobile applications are making research findings more accessible than ever before. Virtual reality and simulation technologies offer innovative ways to educate nurses on EBP and to evaluate the impact of care without risking patient safety.

As nursing continues to advance as a research-based profession, it is likely that more nurses will engage in research activities and contribute to the body of knowledge that underpins nursing practice. The integration of EBP into all levels of nursing care will continue to be a priority, ensuring that patients receive care that is not only compassionate and patient-centered but also empirically sound.

In summarizing the central themes of this comprehensive examination of nursing, it is clear that the nursing profession serves as a linchpin within the health sector. From the historical context to the modern evolution of nursing practices, this paper has underscored the dynamic and essential role that nurses play in patient care and the broader healthcare system. Nurses not only provide hands-on care but also engage in critical thinking, leadership, and advocacy that shape healthcare delivery and policy (Institute of Medicine, 2010).

The scope of nursing practice, as discussed, has expanded far beyond its traditional boundaries, now encompassing advanced practice roles, a commitment to public health, and a central role in global healthcare initiatives. Nurses are at the forefront of integrating evidence-based practice into clinical settings, ensuring that patient care is guided by the best available evidence and patient values. The profession has risen to the challenge of embracing technological advancements and innovations, from telehealth to sophisticated health informatics systems, which have revolutionized the way nursing care is delivered and documented (Huston, 2013).

Looking to the future, nursing is poised to continue its trajectory of growth and influence. As the demands of healthcare evolve with an aging population, emerging global health threats, and complex chronic health conditions, the need for skilled, compassionate, and innovative nurses is more pronounced than ever. The profession must continue to advocate for advanced education, research opportunities, and practice environments that enable nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training.

Nursing’s future will also be characterized by a continued emphasis on interprofessional collaboration, as patient care becomes more integrated and team-based. Nurses will undoubtedly take on leadership roles in these teams, utilizing their expertise in patient care coordination and holistic care to improve health outcomes and patient experiences (American Nurses Association, 2015).

In conclusion, the field of nursing is not static but continually advancing, driven by research, technological innovations, and an unwavering commitment to patient care. As this paper has demonstrated, nursing is central to the health sector, and its future trajectory is one of greater impact, with the potential to shape the face of healthcare in the years to come.

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Nurses’ turnover intention, hope and career identity: the mediating role of job satisfaction

School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 P.R. China

Chongkun Wang

Associated data.

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

A high turnover rate has become a critical issue in the field of nursing and how to tackle the problem of nursing turnover has received increased attention worldwide. Hope, career identity, job satisfaction may be useful for reducing turnover. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships among career identity, hope, job satisfaction, and the turnover intention of nurses, and to test the mediating role of job satisfaction on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention.

A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. A total of 500 nurses were recruited from five comprehensive tertiary hospitals using convenience sampling. The questionnaire included items about sociodemographic information as well as the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, Nursing Career Identity Scale, Job Satisfaction Index Scale, and Nurse Turnover Intention Scale. Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. We describe the study in accordance with the STROBE statement.

Hope ( r  = − 0.227, p  < 0.001) and career identity ( r  = − 0.342, p  < 0.001) were negatively correlated with turnover intention. Job satisfaction played a completely mediating role on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention (β 1  = − 0.09, β 2  = − 0.33).

Conclusions

Job satisfaction mediated the associations of career identity and hope with turnover intention. Thus, effective measures can be taken to enhance nurses’ hope and career identity in order to improve their job satisfaction and thereby reduce their turnover intention. Providing nurses with more support, helping them find a spiritual foundation, and holding mindful activities that stimulate positive emotions are helpful. In addition, colleges should pay more attention to instilling nursing students with career identity and nursing values.

Nursing shortages have become a critical issue for healthcare systems all over the world [ 1 – 3 ]. Pressure on the healthcare system keeps growing because of the aging population and the increasing need of health services, which have greatly increased the demand for nurses [ 3 – 7 ]. When the “Healthy China 2030” initiative was implemented in China, there was an adequate reserve of nursing human resources to meet increasing demand. However, as the WHO reported, rising demand has exacerbated a global nursing shortage, which is predicted to exceed 7.6 million by 2030 [ 8 ]. Thus, the high turnover rate of nurses is a global concern [ 2 , 5 , 9 , 10 ]. Given the situation, the shortage of nurses will become more prominent. Though recruiting more nurses may help, retaining nurses in hospitals is another and potentially more effective method to cope with the problem of nursing shortages. Therefore, how to tackle the problem of nursing turnover has received increased worldwide attention [ 11 , 12 ].

A high turnover rate has become a critical issue in the field of nursing. Intention to leave is an early indicator of actual turnover [ 4 , 13 ], and one way to retain nurses is to reduce their turnover intention [ 1 ]. Turnover intention has been defined as “the last in a sequence of withdrawal cognitions, a set to which thinking of quitting and intent to search for alternative employment also belong” [ 14 ]. In simple terms, turnover intention indicates the intention to leave the job in a period ahead [ 15 ]. Turnover intention has been widely proved to be an important and practical antecedent variable of turnover, and it is the best predictor of actual turnover behavior [ 16 ]. Therefore, it is very important to identify the antecedents of turnover intention. A recent study reported that 22% of hospital nurses intended to leave their profession in less than a year because of workplace stress [ 17 ], and an earlier study reported that 15.5% of nurses intended to leave their profession [ 18 ]. Another study found 35–60% of nurses left their first place of employment within 1 year [ 19 ]. This can cause a shortage of clinical nurses, reduce nursing quality [ 9 , 17 ], and increase re-recruitment costs [ 3 ]. A lower rate of nurse turnover is associated with safe and positive outcomes for patients [ 1 ]. Thus, it is critical to identity the key factors that influence and mediate nurses’ turnover intention and to develop retention strategies tailored to nurses [ 7 ].

Turnover intention is affected by career identity, and a higher level of career identity usually indicates lower turnover intention among nurses [ 10 , 18 ]. Nurses’ career identity can affect nurses’ work enthusiasm and job satisfaction, so as to affect the quality of nursing [ 20 , 21 ]. Career identity is a relatively abstract concept, which refers to an individual’s understanding of the social impact of his or her profession and the significance of his or her work [ 22 ], and involves the internalization of core values and perspectives [ 23 ]. It can be characterized by feelings, values, and attitudes [ 24 ]. Nurses’ career identity is positively associated with job satisfaction [ 25 ]. When nurses positively identify with their careers, the dissatisfaction created by their work environment can be suppressed to a certain extent [ 26 ]. A study of 1312 hotel employees in China found that career identity has a positive impact on employees’ job satisfaction and a negative impact on turnover intention [ 27 ]. It further explains the mediating role of job satisfaction between career identity and turnover intention. However, in the nurse group, this intermediary relationship has not been explored.

A study of 416 employees shows that there is a significant negative relationship between psychological capital and turnover intention [ 28 ]. Ayijiamali et al. and Zou et al. concluded that employees with good psychological capital will look positively at things in the organization, which largely depends on hope and optimism. More studies show that psychological capital has a direct and indirect impact on turnover intention through intermediary variables [ 29 , 30 ]. Hope belongs to a kind of psychological capital and has different meanings in different situations. Hope is a positive motivation state based on the inner sense of success. It includes will power, a kind of energy and path of goal orientation, that is, the way and plan to achieve the goal [ 31 ]. Scholars have shown that hope is particularly important in the face of the intense competition and uncertainty that characterize the present work and career environment [ 32 ]. A high level of hope helps nurses appropriately deal with psychological distress and cope with difficulties at work more positively, and it can motivate their pursuit of professional development. Thus, the negative impact of dissatisfaction with the job that generates intention to leave may be diminished. It means that their job satisfaction will be higher. Hope can lead to positive arousal and persistence in pursuit of one’s goals (i.e., “energized to” motivation), which involves agency thinking, the confidence that one is capable of reaching one’s goals (“can do” motivation), as well as pathway thinking, which are a critical psychological resource related to positive human development in various life domains, including vocational pursuits [ 32 ]. A study of workers in China found that hope was negatively correlated with turnover intention [ 33 ]. Although hope is increasingly recognized to be an important psychological resource for professional development, most studies have focused on the relationship between career and psychological capital, which combines hope with optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience into a somewhat ambiguous concept, and studies on the effects of hope on job satisfaction and turnover intention are rare.

Job satisfaction has a negative association with turnover intention [ 2 , 34 ], which suggests that improving the job satisfaction of nurses could be an important strategy to retain them. The results of testing the turnover model show that job satisfaction is a significant antecedent of turnover intention. In other words, when employees’ job satisfaction is low, they will increase the behavior indicating their intention to leave the organization [ 35 , 36 ]. Job satisfaction is usually defined as a positive and pleasurable emotional reaction generated by an individual’s overall assessment [ 2 ]. Job satisfaction was first proposed by Hoppock et al. [ 37 ]. He believes that job satisfaction refers to an individual’s psychological and physiological satisfaction with the work itself and the environment, and it is also an individual’s subjective response to the work environment. Job satisfaction is an important part of organizational psychology and organizational behavior. Scanlan and Hazelton proposed that job satisfaction plays an intermediary role between career identity and employee turnover intention [ 25 ]. They believe that career identity enables employees to effectively obtain the required work resources, helps to create a comfortable working atmosphere, so as to improve employees’ job satisfaction and reduce employees’ turnover intention. It can be seen that career identity is the key factor affecting employees’ job satisfaction. Therefore, we propose that job satisfaction can be used as an intermediary to explain its intermediary role between career identity and turnover intention behavior. Using job satisfaction as an intermediary can deepen our understanding of how career identity affects hotel employees’ turnover intention. In addition, hope has been found to have a positive association with job satisfaction [ 38 ]. As career identity is closely related to self-efficacy, it may change attitudes towards work [ 39 ], so we can speculate that it may improve job satisfaction.

To sum up, the relationship between hope, career identity and turnover intention has been established in the literature. The research on the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between hope, career identity and turnover intention is still very limited. Therefore, by combining the mediating role of job satisfaction, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between hope, career identity and turnover intention. To our knowledge, there is no empirical study integrating these four variables into a model. We assumed that hope and career identity were negatively correlated with turnover intention, and that job satisfaction and turnover intention were negatively correlated. We hypothesized that job satisfaction plays a mediating role on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention. The hypothetical model we developed is shown in Fig.  1 .

Hypothesized model of relationship between hope, career identity, job satisfaction and turnover intention

The purpose of this study was: (i) to investigate the turnover intention of nurses; (ii) to explore the relationships among career identity, hope, job satisfaction, and turnover intention; and (iii) to test the mediating effect of job satisfaction on turnover intention.

Design and data collection

This was a correlational study of 500 nurses who were recruited from comprehensive tertiary hospitals in Beijing using convenience sampling in June 2019. First, according to the convenience of sampling, we selected five comprehensive tertiary hospitals in Beijing, China. Then the nurses from all departments of the hospitals who were on duty on the survey day and were willing to cooperate with the survey were recruited. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) engaged in clinical work for more than 1 year; and (2) provided informed consent and volunteered to complete the questionnaires. Nurses studying in these hospitals were excluded. Trained volunteers handed out the questionnaires to potential participants, explained the purpose and principles of the study and the directions for completing the questionnaires, and obtained their informed consent. We received 493 valid questionnaires, for an effective completion rate of 98.6%. Klien suggests that a sample size of 200 or more is required to yield stable estimates for testing structural equation models (SEM) [ 40 ]. According to 10 times the number of the scale items, the sample size is 495. Considering a non-response rate of 10%, a total of 500 nurses is enough. The participants were informed that their participation was completely voluntary and anonymous. We describe the research process of the study in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement [ 41 ].

Sociodemographic characteristics

The sociodemographic variables included gender, age, marital status, level of education, years of work, professional title, management position, and department.

Hope was measured with the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS), which was developed by Snyder et al. [ 42 ] and revised by Chen, Shen, and Li [ 43 ]. The ADHS measures three dimensions of hope: agency thinking (4 items), pathway thinking (4 items), and distraction (4 items). Agency thinking refers to a group of self-belief systems that initiate individual actions and support individuals to move forward toward their goals and along the established path. Path thinking is a group of beliefs and perceptions about one’s ability to find effective ways to achieve desired goals [ 31 ]. The four questions of “distraction” are used to distract the subjects. Each item is rated from 1 to 4, except the distraction items, which are not rated. Higher scores indicate higher levels of hope. The Cronbach’s α coefficients were 0.78 for the total score, 0.73 for agency thoughts, and 0.75 for pathway thoughts. And confirmatory structural analysis showed that it had good structural validity [ 43 ].

Career identity

The Nursing Career Identity Scale (NCIS) was developed by scholars at Tokyo University in Japan, and it has been widely used in Japan, Sweden, and other countries. Its cross-cultural adaptation and tests of its validity and reliability were conducted by Chinese scholars [ 44 ]. The 21 items of the NCIS measure seven dimensions, including sense of grasp (3 items), sense of consistency (4 items), sense of significance (3 items), sense of self efficacy (3 items), sense of self decision (3 items), sense of organizational influence (2 items), and sense of individual influence (3 items). All the items are rated on a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 (extremely not conform) to 7 (extremely conform). The content validity index of each item is greater than 0.80 (Mean = 0.92). The Cronbach’s α of the entire scale is 0.84 and the α for the sense of organizational influence dimension is 0.69; the α for the other dimensions are equal or greater than 0.70.

Job satisfaction

We measured job satisfaction with the Job Satisfaction Index described by Schreisheim and Tsui at the Western Management Institute Conference in 1980 [ 45 ]. The 6 items of it measure three dimensions, including general satisfaction (2 items), intrinsic satisfaction (2 items) and extrinsic satisfaction (2 items). Its six items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with a higher total score indicating higher job satisfaction. The Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.73. In this study, the Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.83 and the α of dimensions are 0.78, 0.74 and 0.75 respectively.

Turnover intention

We used the Nurse Turnover Intention Scale (NTIS) developed by Michael and Spector [ 46 ], which contains six items that measure three dimensions: possibility of resigning from present job (2 items); motivation to seek another job (2 items); and possibility of obtaining an external job (2 items). All the items were rated on a 4-point scale: never = 1, seldom = 2, occasionally = 3, and often = 4. The total average score ≤ 1 indicates very low turnover intention, > 1 and ≤ 2 indicate low turnover intention, > 2 and ≤ 3 indicate high turnover intention, and > 3 indicate very high turnover intention. The Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.77 and the content validity index is 0.68. In this study, the Cronbach’s α of the scale is 0.83 and the α of dimensions are 0.79, 0.63 and 0.72 respectively.

Data analysis

First, descriptive statistics were calculated for the sociodemographic characteristics, which are presented as frequency counts and percentages, and the main study variables (i.e., the four scales), which are presented as mean and standard deviation as the data were normally distributed. No missing data in valid questionnaire. Second, Pearson’s correlation was used to test the associations between the main study variables. Next, multiple linear regression was performed with job satisfaction as the dependent variable in Model 1 and turnover intention as the dependent variable in Model 2. The independent variables included sociodemographic characteristics, hope, career identity, and job satisfaction (see the Results for details). These statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 24.0. The results were considered statistically significant when p  < 0.05. Finally, AMOS was used to conduct structural equation model (SEM), with turnover intention as the dependent variable, hope and career identity as independent variables, and job satisfaction as the mediating variable to test its mediating effect.

Characteristics of the participants

The sociodemographic characteristics of the sample are displayed in Table  1 . Almost all of the participants were female (98.6%) and the average age was 31.8 years (SD = 7.4). The majority were 25–44 years of age (75.3%) and married (65.3%). More than half held a Bachelor’s degree or higher (63.5%), and most of them held a junior professional title (71.4%) and no management position (94.3%).

Sociodemographic characteristics of the sample ( N  = 493)

Participants’ hope, career identity, job satisfaction and turnover intention

The descriptive statistics for hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover are shown in Table ​ Table2. 2 . The average score of hope is 22.67 ± 3.57, and paths thinking scored higher than agency thinking (11.77 ± 1.83 vs. 10.90 ± 2.04). The average score of career identity is 110.22 ± 19.16, and the average score of items in sense of self efficiency dimension is the highest. The average score of job satisfaction is 20.71 ± 4.55, and the score of external satisfaction dimension is the highest. The average score of turnover intention is 15.54 ± 3.77, and the average score of items is greater than 2, indicating that the participants’ turnover intention is at a high level.

Descriptive statistics for the ADHS, NCIS, OJS, and ET

a 5-point scale with a range of 1–5, b 7-point scale with a range of 1–7, c 4-point scale with a range of 1–4

Associations among hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention

Pearson’s correlations are shown in Table  3 . Hope had a moderate positive correlation with career identity ( r  = 0.494) and job satisfaction ( r  = 0.421). We also found a positive relationship between career identity and job satisfaction ( r  = 0.610). There were negative correlations between turnover intention and hope ( r  = − 0.227), career identity ( r  = − 0.342), and job satisfaction ( r  = − 0.501). It is worth noting that was just small level of correlation between turnover intention and hope, while medium level with career identity.

Correlations between hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention ( N  = 493)

*** p  < 0.001

Table ​ Table4 4 presents the results of the regression analysis, which further show the relationships between hope, career identity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Job satisfaction was the dependent variable in Model 1, and hope, career identity, age, and women & children unit were the independent variables. Model 1 accounted for 42.5% of the variance in nurse’s job satisfaction, and revealed that career identity predicted job satisfaction (β = 0.540) better than hope did (β = 0.159). Model 2 accounted for 32.4% of the variance in nurses’ turnover intention (the dependent variable), with job satisfaction, vocational education, gender, women & children unit, surgical unit, other unit, and marital status (married or not) as independent variables. Model 2 also shows that job satisfaction significantly predicted turnover intention (β = 0.500). Interestingly, the model found age was negatively associated with job satisfaction.

Regression results

Model 1: dependent variable: Job satisfaction

Model 2: dependent variable: Turnover intention

B Path coefficient, β Standardized path coefficient, R 2 Coefficient determination, t Path coefficient test statistics (critical ratio), p Significance, F Test for ANOVA

* p  < 0.05; ** p  < 0.01; *** p  < 0.001

Mediating effect of job satisfaction on the associations of career identity and hope with turnover intention

Figure  2 and Table  5 show the SEM results. The final model and standardized model paths are shown in Fig.  2 . The total effects, direct effects, and indirect effects are shown in Table ​ Table5. 5 . The model had a good fit with the data: RMSEA = 0.076, GFI = 0.920, IFI = 0.950, TLI = 0.935, NFI = 0.943, CMIN/DF = 3.865.

Final model and standardized model paths. ADHSm: Hope; NCISm: career identity; OJSm: job satisfaction; ETm: Turnover; ADHS1: Agency thinking; ADHS2: Pathway thinking; NCIS1: Sense of grasp; NCIS2: Sense of consistency; NCIS3: Sense of significance; NCIS4: Sense of self efficacy; NCIS5: Sense of self decision; NCIS6: Sense of organization’s influence; NCIS7: Sense of patients’ influence; OJS1: General satisfaction; OJS2: Intrinsic satisfaction; OJS3: Extrinsic satisfaction; ET1: possibility to resign from present job; ET2: motivation to seek another job; ET3: possibility to gain an external job

Effects of hope and career identity on turnover intention

A 95% bootstrap confidence interval that does not include zero means an effect is significant

As shown in Table ​ Table5, 5 , both hope (β = − 0.10, for total effect)) and career identity (β = − 0.38, for total effect) had significant negative relationships with turnover intention. Figure ​ Figure2 2 shows there was also a negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention (β = − 0.54). The results also indicated that the indirect effect (β = − 0.09) of hope on turnover intention was significant as well as its direct effect on job satisfaction (β = 0.16). These findings mean that higher hope was related to lower turnover intention and higher job satisfaction, and that job satisfaction completely mediated the relationship between hope and turnover intention.

The results for career identity indicated that it had significant indirect (β = − 0.33) and direct (β = − 0.05) effects on turnover intention as well as its direct effect on job satisfaction (β = 0.60). These findings mean that higher career identity was related to lower turnover intention and higher job satisfaction and that job satisfaction completely mediated the relationship between career identity and turnover intention.

Our study found that hope and career identity were negatively correlated with turnover intention, and that job satisfaction and turnover intention were negatively correlated. Job satisfaction plays a completely mediating role on the associations of hope and career identity with turnover intention.

The average score of the NTIS was 15.54 (SD = 3.77) in this study, and 78.3% of nurses held a strong or extremely strong turnover intention. These results indicate a higher turnover intention compared to those reported in other similar studies. According to Rudman et al. [ 47 ], the 5-year cumulative incidence of nurses who strongly intended to leave the profession in Sweden was 30%. In South Korea, the likelihood that new nursing school graduates would leave their first job within 3 years was 46% [ 48 ]. The WHO estimated in 2013, that 40% of nurses might leave their work within a decade [ 49 ]. The situation in China is also not optimistic. The turnover intention rate of village doctors was 36.8% in 2014 [ 50 ], and 45.3% of township health inspectors have been found to have medium to high turnover intention [ 15 ]. The mean job satisfaction of nurses in the present study was 20.71 (SD = 4.55), indicating that their job satisfaction was not very high, which is consistent with previous studies [ 51 , 52 ]. Ghawadra et al., for example, found that 41% of hospital nurses had low job satisfaction [ 17 ]. A study of nurses in Turkey found their job satisfaction was at a moderate level [ 10 ].

The level of turnover intention of nurses in our study was higher than that reported in many previous studies and their job satisfaction was lower. The reason for this may lie in the nature of our sample, which consisted of registered nurses working in comprehensive tertiary hospitals in Beijing. Comprehensive tertiary hospitals in the Chinese capital have a very large flow of patients who have various diseases that are difficult to treat. Furthermore, the hospitals in our study were all affiliated with a university. Therefore, the nurses had to shoulder the responsibility for teaching nursing students in addition to their regular nursing duties. Thus, it is likely their work was more intensive and stressful, which may lead to lower job satisfaction and high turnover intention. Many studies have demonstrated the effects of high workloads and heavy stress on job satisfaction and turnover intention [ 2 , 5 , 17 ], suggesting that nursing managers should pay more attention to these problems.

Our analyses revealed both career identity and hope were negatively associated with turnover intention. Career identity has a significant association with turnover intention, and it provides a type of intrinsic support. Nurses will devote more energy in and be more enthusiastic about their work when they positively identify with their careers. Career identity may help them to overcome the difficulties and problems that lead to dissatisfaction and strengthen their commitment to stay. Nurses with poor career identity usually tend to leave. Generally speaking, by improving employees’ professional identity, employees’ turnover intention can be effectively reduced. When employees believe that their work can create value and make sense to themselves, they have a higher sense of career identity, more investment and satisfaction with their work; Otherwise, when the career identity is low, employees will consider leaving their existing jobs when appropriate opportunities arise [ 53 , 54 ]. Furthermore, research has revealed that career identity can influence turnover intention through direct and indirect pathways [ 8 , 15 , 18 ]. Hope and career identity are expressions of intrinsic motivation, which explains why nurses with higher career identity tend to have a positive outlook towards work and retain their hope, thereby having positive effects on many aspects of professional development. A recent quantitative study found widespread pressure on the nurses who helped fight against COVID-19 in Hubei [ 55 ]. These nurses mainly had to stay alone in their rooms after work for the sake of safety. The professional identity and hope of nurses were particularly important in this psychological state of pressure and social isolation. Otherwise, this situation would have easily made them think of leaving.

The results of the SEM in our study showed that job satisfaction had a completely mediating effect on the association between career identity and turnover intention. This result is consistent with previous research that job satisfaction had an intermediary role in the relationship between career identity and turnover intention [ 15 ]. Job satisfaction is the key incentive variable that determines employees’ turnover intention behavior. In the workplace, employees conduct personal assessment of work characteristics and work environment to generate cognition, emotion and intention, so as to determine their positive or negative evaluation of the nature of work and even the company [ 56 , 57 ]. This study promotes the development of career identity literature by investigating the intermediary mechanism between career identity and turnover intention. Although early studies have concluded that job satisfaction is a key outcome variable in the process of professional identity [ 10 , 58 ], previous scholars rarely empirically tested the mediating role of job satisfaction in nurses. Our research shows that job satisfaction is an important way to connect career identity with turnover intention. In addition, we found job satisfaction was an intermediate variable between hope and turnover intention. A previous study showed that psychological capital had a medium to large indirect effect on employees’ turnover intention when hope was part of psychological capital [ 59 ]. These results suggest that we can take effective measures to enhance nurses’ hope and career identity so as to improve their job satisfaction and ultimately reduce their turnover intention.

Our study extends prior research results and provides nursing managers with suggestions for team building and management that have theoretical and practical significance. In the face of increasing demands on nurses, the nursing shortage, and proposals to increase the quality of nursing care, nursing managers need to think about how to reduce turnover, retain clinical nurses, and improve the quality of nursing. As discussed above, job satisfaction appears to reduce turnover intention, and to mediate the apparent effects of career identity and hope on turnover intention.

Career identity and hope can affect turnover intention directly and indirectly through job satisfaction. Strengthening career identity and improving hope are critical measures for nursing managers to improve nurses’ job satisfaction, lower turnover intention, and thereby reduce turnover rate and improve the quality of care. Career identity cognitively influences nurses’ attitudes about work. This influence begins when a student enters nursing education and continues throughout his/her working life [ 18 ]. Strengthening nurses’ career identity through educational programs is feasible because nurses who did not sufficiently develop career identities during their vocational education can still develop them [ 18 ]. In addition, colleges should pay more attention to instilling nursing students with career identity and nursing values [ 3 ]. The gap between college and clinical work is one of the reasons for the low level of career identity in newly graduated nurses. Providing them with adequate guidance and support, and enabling them to practice with confidence in a safe and proficient manner may increase their career identity with nursing during this transitional period.

The increased recognition of nurses’ practice is important for expanding the nursing workforce in the future. Hope is influenced by many factors, such as reward, workload, working conditions, doctor-nurse relationships, and management style. Management should increase nurses’ level of hope and job satisfaction in order to retain them by improving their working conditions [ 17 , 60 ]. This is cost-effective, since training nurses is costly and resources can be directed from being wasted efforts to productive activities [ 47 ]. Furthermore, providing nurses with more support, helping them find a spiritual foundation [ 17 ], and holding mindful activities that stimulate positive emotions are helpful for improving nurses’ level of hope. Of course, increasing one’s entire psychological capital is beneficial for having hope play a role in professional development.

Limitations

Our study has some limitations. First, though the sample was large and representative, the generalizability of its results is limited because the sample came from tertiary hospitals in Beijing, all of which were comprehensive teaching hospitals of medical colleges, and thus, these nurses may have characteristics that increase turnover intention. Therefore, further research should be conducted with samples taken from a broader population of nurses (such as nurses from other cities or hospitals of different grades). Second, though the current findings found job satisfaction mediated the association between hope and turnover intention, other variables may contribute to this effect (for instance, social support may influence the relationships among these variables). Future studies should explore other possible mediating variables to reach a more definitive conclusion. Last but not least, because the mediating effect implies causality, it is lack of sufficient persuasion to verify the mediating effect with cross-sectional data. Therefore, the mediating effect explored in this study needs further experimental verification.

The results of this study support the relationship among hope, career identity, job satisfaction and turnover intention, which guide the intervention measures driven by theory to solve the problem of high turnover intention of nursing staff and help to solve the shortage of nurses. Thus, we can take effective measures to enhance nurses’ hope and career identity in order to improve their job satisfaction and ultimately their turnover intention. Providing nurses with more support, helping them find a spiritual foundation, and holding mindful activities that stimulate positive emotions are helpful. In addition, colleges should pay more attention to instilling nursing students with career identity and nursing values.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the nurses who participated in the study.

Abbreviations

Authors’ contributions

CK, W; Y, L and X, W design the study. CK, W; Y, L and HL, H performed data collection and analysis. HL, H; CK, W and Y, L were major contributors in writing the manuscript and HL, H and X, W performed critical revisions for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.72071004 & No.71601004, National Key R&D Program of China under Grant No.2020YFC2008805 & No.2020YFC2008800, and the Undergraduate Innovative Research Project under Grant No. BJMU-HL-201808D. The funders did not play any role in the study.

Availability of data and materials

Declarations.

The study was approved by Peking University Institutional Review Board and the number is IRB00001052–19047. The guiding words of the questionnaire filled in by the participants were as follows: filling in the questionnaire was regarded as informed consent. Therefore, the authors consider that written informed consent was obtained from the participants.

Not applicable.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Huiling Hu and Chongkun Wang should be considered joint first author.

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Nurse researcher jobs involve designing and carrying out research studies, either through new data that they create or from existing research. The following is a list of nurse researcher responsibilities:

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Disadvantages to becoming a nurse researcher, how to become a nurse researcher.

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Graduate with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) or an associate degree in nursing (ADN).

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The annual median research nurse salary is $81,500 . Generally, nurse researchers with doctoral degrees earn more than those with master’s-level education. Some research nurse professionals in academia qualify for tenure. In general, clinical research associates earn a median salary of $66,930 , while certified clinical research professionals earn an average salary of $72,430 . However, because of the RN credential, nurse researchers with these certifications generally earn above the average or median for those positions.

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Nurse researcher careers require a significant time investment. It takes at least six years of education to earn an MSN and seven years for a doctorate. In addition, most MSN and doctoral programs require at least two years of experience as an RN.

Why is nursing research important?

Nursing research finds the most effective approaches to nursing and improves the outcomes for nurses, patients, and healthcare organizations. It builds the body of knowledge for nurse education.

What are some examples of responsibilities nurse researchers may have?

Professional responsibilities include protecting human or animal subjects in their research, designing studies that produce valid results, accurately reporting results, and sharing findings through publishing.

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Research nurse jobs offer opportunities for advancement in the academic or research field, such as becoming primary investigator on studies of increasing scope and importance, advancement in administration, or receiving tenure as a professor or college instructor.

Resources for Nurse Researchers

International association of clinical research nurses, national institute of nursing research, the association of clinical research professionals, society of clinical research associates, related pages.

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Nurse research can explore any number of topics, from symptomology to patient diet. However, no matter the focus of a research project, nurse research can improve health care in an impressive number of ways. As experts in their field, nurse researchers can pursue a wide range of unique career advancement opportunities .

Why Nursing Research Matters: Examples of Research in Action

Research drives innovation in every industry. Given that nurses are on the front line of the health care industry, the research they do can be particularly impactful for patient outcomes. 

It Can Improve Patients’ Quality of Life

Patients diagnosed with life-threatening chronic diseases often undergo intense treatments with sometimes debilitating side effects. Nursing research is vital to helping such patients maintain a high quality of life.

For example, a 2018 study led by a nurse scientist explored why cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy frequently experience severe nausea. While the physical toll of chemotherapy contributes to nausea, the study found that patients who have factors such as children to take care of, high psychological stress, and trouble performing day-to-day tasks are often much more likely to experience nausea.

By identifying the root causes of nausea and which patients are more likely to experience it, this research allows health care professionals to develop evidence-based care practices . This can include prescribing anti-nausea medications and connecting patients to mental health professionals.

It’s Central to Making Health Care More Equitabl

A Gallup survey reports that about 38% of Americans put off seeking medical treatment due to costs. Unfortunately, cost is only one factor that prevents people from seeking treatment. Many Americans don’t live close to medical providers that can meet their needs, aren’t educated about health, or encounter discrimination.

As complex as this issue is, the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) asserts that the country’s nurse researchers can lead the charge in tackling it. In its strategic plan for 2022 to 2026, the institute highlights the following:

• Nursing has long been one of the most trusted professions in the country.
• Nurses often interact with patients, patients’ families, and communities more frequently than other health care professionals.
• The care that nurses provide must often take environmental and social factors into account.

These traits put nurses in the position to not only research health inequity but also put their research to work in their organizations. To help make that happen, NINR often funds nurse-led research projects focused on equity and social determinants of health. With that kind of backing, the field may become more transformative than ever.

It Can Strengthen the Health Care Workforce

While nursing research can be used to improve patient care, it can also be leveraged to solve issues health care professionals face daily. Research about the state of the health care workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect illustration.

In 2022, a team of nurse researchers published a report called Nursing Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities for Our Profession After COVID-19 in the International Journal of Nursing Practice . In it, the authors provided concrete statistics about the following:

• Mental and physical health issues many nurses encountered
• Effects of increased workloads and decreased nurse-to-patient ratios
• How many nurses were planning to leave the profession altogether

As nurses themselves, the authors also offer actionable, evidence-based solutions to these issues, such as streamlining patient documentation systems and implementing employee wellness programs.

However, this type of research isn’t just important to solving workforce issues stemming from specific emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. By publishing quantifiable data about the challenges they face, nurse researchers empower other nurses and professional nursing organizations to advocate for themselves. This can help employers enact effective policies, support their nursing staff, and draw more talented people into the profession.

Career Opportunities in Nursing Research

Nurse researchers can work in any number of administrative, direct care, and academic roles. However, because nurse research often requires clinical care and data analysis skills, jobs in this field typically require an advanced degree, such as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).

While many more nurse research career opportunities exist, here are four career paths nurses with research experience and advanced degrees can explore.

Nurse Researcher

Nurse researchers identify issues related to nursing practice, collect data about them, and conduct research projects designed to inform practice and policy. While they often work in academic medical centers and universities, they can work for any type of health care provider as well as health care advocacy agencies.

In addition to conducting research, these professionals typically provide direct patient care. Many also write papers for peer-reviewed journals and make presentations about their work at conferences.

Clinical Research Nurse

Despite having a similar title to nurse researchers, clinical research nurses have slightly different responsibilities. These professionals are usually in charge of providing care to patients participating in medical research projects, including clinical trials and nursing research initiatives. They also typically collect data about patient progress, coordinate care between different team members, and contribute to academic papers.

Occupational Health Nurse

Also referred to as environmental health nurses, occupational health nurses serve specific communities, such as professionals in a particular industry or people who live in a particular area. They often educate their communities about relevant health risks, advocate for stronger health and safety regulations, and run wellness programs.

To carry out their duties, occupational and environmental health nurses must typically research health trends about the people they serve, including living and working conditions that put them at risk for illness or injury. They can work for private companies and government agencies.

Nurse Educator

Nurse educators prepare new nurses to enter the workforce or train experienced nurses in more advanced techniques. This can include teaching classes and providing on-the-job training. They often work for colleges, universities, and large health care providers.

While their duties don’t always include research, nurse educators must keep up with the health care industry’s needs and new patient care practices. This is so they can provide relevant education themselves and help their organizations design up-to-date curricula.

Make Nursing Research a Part of Your Journey

Conducting and implementing nurse research is a collaborative effort. It takes a team of informed leaders, skilled analysts, and creative educators to create effective, evidence-based policies. Those interested in pursuing nurse research should consider The University of Tulsa’s online MSN program , which can prepare you to fill any one of those roles and more.

All of TU’s MSN students take classes on research and evidence-based practices. However, the program’s specialty tracks allow students to take their studies in multiple research-oriented directions. For instance, if you’re interested in collecting and interpreting clinical data, you can choose the Informatics and Analysis track. If you have a passion for public health policy, the Public Health and Global Vision track includes classes on population health and epidemiology.

Delivered in a flexible online format, this program can be a great option for working nurses and nontraditional students alike. To find out more, read about TU’s admission policies and request more information today.

Recommended Readings

A Nurse Educator’s Role in the Future of Nursing

How Global Health Nursing Supports Population Health

What Can You Do With an MSN?

Gallup, “Record High in U.S. Put Off Medical Care Due to Cost in 2022”

International Journal of Nursing Practice, “Nursing Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities for Our Profession After COVID‐19”

Journal of Pain Symptom Management , “Risk Factors Associated With Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea in the Week Prior to the Next Cycle and Impact of Nausea on Quality of Life Outcomes”

Mayo Clinic, Nursing

National Institute of Nursing Research, Scientific Strategy: NINR’s Research Framework

National Institute of Nursing Research, The National Institute of Nursing Research 2022-2026 Strategic Plan

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Essentials of building a career in nursing research

Affiliations.

• 1 School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Sydney, Australia.
• 2 University of Hull, Hull, UK.
• PMID: 27424961
• DOI: 10.7748/nr.2016.e1412

Background: Nursing research is fundamental to driving evidence-based practice and achieving safe outcomes for patients. Underpinning the discussion in this paper are nurse researchers who thought strategically during their undergraduate and postgraduate studies to build a body of credible research influencing patient outcomes and, in so doing, establish their careers.

Aim: To provide an overview of some of the career essentials that support a transition in role for the beginner or emerging researcher, otherwise known as the early career researcher.

Discussion: Early career researchers need to acquire research competencies, to get involved in research teams, and to understand the research landscape and the various associated subtleties/vagaries and career trajectories. This is fundamental for establishing their credibility as researchers, and enabling them to undertake research that will influence policy and practice.

Conclusion: Establishing a research career is challenging, and takes time, effort, patience, perseverance and commitment. For beginner researchers, collegial support and mentoring are essential to support a viable, professional, sustainable, enquiring profession, and a satisfying career.

Implications for practice: Building individual capabilities and collaborative research teams together is fundamental to research success in adapting to new roles and workplaces.

Keywords: careers; collaboration; mentorship; nurse researcher; nursing; research impact; scholarship; supervision.

PubMed Disclaimer

• Nursing researchers forge careers in a highly competitive environment. Moxham L. Moxham L. Nurse Res. 2016 Jul;23(6):6-7. doi: 10.7748/nr.23.6.6.s2. Nurse Res. 2016. PMID: 27424957 No abstract available.

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A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Nursing Research Paper

• Rachel R.N.
• March 7, 2024
• How to Guides

A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Nursing Research Paper: A Step-by-step guide

Writing a nursing research paper is an essential skill for nursing students and professionals alike. It serves as a platform to contribute to the ever-expanding body of knowledge in the field, fostering evidence-based practice and promoting advancements in healthcare. This comprehensive guide aims to provide step-by-step instructions on how to craft a well-structured and impactful nursing research paper.

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The Research Paper Outline

Here are the steps to writing a research nursing paper

1. Choosing a Relevant Topic

Selecting a pertinent and engaging topic is the first crucial step in writing a nursing research paper. Consider the following factors when choosing a topic:

• Personal Interest : Opt for a subject that sparks your interest or relates to your clinical experiences. For example, if you have a passion for pediatric nursing, you might choose a topic related to childhood obesity interventions.
• Relevance : Ensure the topic addresses current issues or gaps in knowledge within the nursing field. This could involve exploring emerging healthcare technologies, examining disparities in healthcare access, or evaluating the effectiveness of nursing interventions in specific patient populations.
• Feasibility: Assess the availability of resources and data needed to conduct a thorough investigation. Consider factors such as access to patient populations , research facilities, and funding opportunities when evaluating the feasibility of your chosen topic.

2. Conducting a Literature Review:

Before delving into your research, it is essential to review existing literature to identify gaps and establish the context for your study.

• Utilize academic databases: Search platforms like PubMed, CINAHL, and others to gather relevant articles.
• Critically analyze literature: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies to identify areas for further exploration. Look for patterns, inconsistencies, or gaps in the existing research that your study can address.
• Synthesize findings: Summarize key themes, methodologies, and gaps in the literature to guide your research question. This synthesis serves as the foundation for framing the significance of your study within the broader context of nursing research.

3. Formulating a Clear Research Question or Hypothesis:

A well-defined research question or hypothesis provides direction for your study and guides the development of your nursing research paper.

Clarity and specificity: Clearly state the problem you aim to address and be specific in your research question or hypothesis. For instance, if your topic revolves around improving patient adherence to medication regimens, your research question might be, “What factors influence medication adherence among patients with chronic illnesses?”

Align with literature: Ensure your research question builds upon existing knowledge and addresses identified gaps. Reference the findings from your literature review to demonstrate the relevance of your study and its potential contributions to the field.

4. Designing the Research Methodology:

Selecting an appropriate research methodology is crucial to gather valid and reliable data. Consider methodologies such as:

a. Quantitative or qualitative: Decide whether your study will involve quantitative measurements, qualitative analysis, or a combination of both. If your research question involves exploring patient experiences, qualitative methods such as interviews or focus groups may be appropriate.

b. Sampling: Define your target population and choose a representative sample size. Consider factors like age, gender, and medical history that align with your research objectives.

c. Data collection: Outline the methods and tools you will use to collect data, ensuring they align with your research question. Whether it’s surveys, interviews, observations, or a review of medical records, justify your choices based on the nature of your study.

5. Ethical Considerations:

Nursing research must adhere to ethical standards to protect participants and maintain the integrity of the study.

Informed consent: Clearly explain the study to participants and obtain their informed consent. Clearly outline the purpose, procedures, potential risks, and benefits of participation.

Confidentiality: Ensure the privacy and anonymity of participants throughout the research process. Safeguarding their identities and sensitive information is crucial to maintain trust and ethical standards.

6. Data Analysis and Interpretation:

Once data collection is complete, analyze the information using appropriate statistical or qualitative methods. a. Statistical analysis: Use statistical software to analyze quantitative data and draw meaningful conclusions. b. Thematic analysis: Identify themes and patterns in qualitative data, providing rich insights into your research question.

7. Writing the Nursing Research Paper:

Structure your paper following the typical components of a scientific research paper.

In nursing research papers, we usually use APA or Harvard formats because they are scientific. The title page is super important because it helps your professor quickly understand your paper. If it’s not done well, you might lose marks. T he title page , also called the cover page, should have your paper’s title, your names, course code and name, university names, your professor’s name, and the date of submission. Check out our examples to see how to set up this important part of your research paper.

The abstract is a short summary of your nursing research paper. It’s important, just like the title page, because it gives readers a quick overview. Keep it short, around 200-250 words, and focus on the main points. Don’t use acronyms or citations. Follow the guidelines for APA or Harvard formatting. It doesn’t count in the word limit unless the Rubric says it does. Include the purpose, contents, results, conclusions, and recommendations.

Introduction

The introduction is the first part of your nursing research paper, taking up about 10% of the word count. Start with an interesting hook for your topic. Provide background information, talk about the nursing issue, and state the main aim or thesis. Clearly outline what your paper will cover, and if it’s a PICO research paper, introduce the PICOT question here.

Literature Review

This section explores what other nursing scholars have said about your thesis statement or topic. Look at various sources about nursing theory, frameworks, and concepts. Develop your paragraphs well, cite ideas, and approach this section critically. For example, if your paper is about managing obesity, you can discuss how the Theory of Planned Behavior is used in interventions. Show good research, organization, and writing skills.

Research Methodology

Here, explain the methods you used to collect data, like qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approaches. For qualitative research in nursing, consider ethnography, historical research, phenomenology, symbiotic interactionism, or grounded theory. Quantitative research involves crunching numbers. If you used secondary sources, mention them and explain your inclusion/exclusion criteria. If it’s a statistical paper, detail your analyses and the tools used (like R or SPSS).

Results and Discussion

Present your findings in this section without making definitive statements. The results should suggest whether something is true or not, especially when testing hypotheses. Discuss your findings using concepts and information from your literature review. Mention any limitations and include graphs, tables, or concept maps.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Summarize the research problem, methodology, and findings. Restate the thesis differently from the introduction. This part should be about 10% of the total word count. Connect your findings to the literature review and suggest future research directions.

Organize your references alphabetically in A-Z format following APA or Harvard guidelines. Make sure each reference is scholarly and used in your paper. Include links if needed. Double-check everything to meet the Rubric requirements.

8. Revision and Peer Review:

Before submitting your nursing research paper, thoroughly review and revise the content for clarity, coherence, and accuracy. Share your draft with peers, mentors, or colleagues to gather constructive feedback. Address any feedback received and revise your paper for clarity, grammar, and style.

9. Submission and Publication:

Once satisfied with the final draft, submit your nursing research paper to a reputable journal or conference for peer review and potential publication.

Source Links

https://writersperhour.com/blog/term-paper-vs-research-paper

50 Potential Nursing Research Topics

• The impact of nurse-patient communication on patient satisfaction and outcomes.
• Exploring the effectiveness of telehealth in nursing care delivery.
• Assessing the prevalence and management of nurse burnout in different healthcare settings.
• The role of advanced practice nurses in improving primary care access and outcomes.
• Examining the effectiveness of simulation-based training in nursing education.
• Investigating the influence of cultural competence on patient care and health disparities.
• Exploring the use of artificial intelligence in nursing practice and patient care.
• Assessing the impact of nurse-led interventions on chronic disease management.
• Examining the challenges and opportunities of transitioning from paper to electronic health records in nursing.
• The role of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing stress among nursing professionals.
• Investigating the relationship between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes.
• Assessing the effectiveness of pain management protocols in postoperative care.
• Exploring the experiences and challenges of male nurses in the nursing profession.
• The impact of continuing education on nursing practice and patient outcomes.
• Examining the role of nurses in promoting vaccination and preventing infectious diseases.
• Investigating the factors influencing nurse retention and turnover in healthcare organizations.
• The effectiveness of nursing interventions in managing patients with mental health disorders.
• Exploring the role of nurses in promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing chronic diseases.
• Assessing the implementation and outcomes of evidence-based practice in nursing.
• Investigating the ethical challenges in end-of-life care decision-making by nurses.
• The role of nursing in addressing the opioid epidemic and substance abuse.
• Examining the impact of nurse-led clinics on community health and access to care.
• Assessing the effectiveness of nurse-managed programs in improving maternal and child health.
• Exploring the perceptions and experiences of patients receiving care from nurse practitioners.
• Investigating the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions in preventing hospital-acquired infections.
• The impact of interprofessional collaboration on patient outcomes in healthcare.
• Examining the relationship between nurse leadership styles and organizational culture.
• Assessing the effectiveness of nursing interventions in reducing falls among elderly patients.
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities of nursing care in rural and underserved communities.
• Investigating the role of nursing in promoting mental health and well-being.
• The impact of technology on communication and collaboration among nursing teams.
• Assessing the knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards LGBTQ+ patients in healthcare.
• Examining the role of nursing in disaster preparedness and response.
• Investigating the effectiveness of nursing interventions in preventing pressure ulcers.
• Exploring the impact of nurse empowerment on patient safety and quality of care.
• Assessing the use of patient-centered care models in nursing practice.
• The role of nursing in addressing health disparities among diverse populations.
• Examining the impact of nurse-led health promotion programs in schools.
• Investigating the role of nurses in promoting ethical decision-making in healthcare.
• Assessing the effectiveness of nursing interventions in managing chronic pain.
• Exploring the impact of nurse-led education programs on patient outcomes.
• The role of nursing in addressing the mental health needs of pediatric patients.
• Examining the effectiveness of nurse-managed transitional care programs.
• Assessing the impact of cultural competence training on nursing practice.
• Investigating the relationship between nurse staffing ratios and medication errors.
• The role of nursing in promoting a culture of safety in healthcare organizations.
• Exploring the experiences of immigrant nurses in the healthcare workforce.
• Assessing the impact of nurse-led interventions in promoting healthy aging.
• Examining the effectiveness of nursing interventions in preventing hospital readmissions.
• Investigating the role of nursing in promoting health equity and social justice.

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