Thefindings of this study are significant for three reasons.
First, nurses were given an opportunity to tell their own
story of why they had initially intended to leave, and why
they eventually left, nursing. The voices of nurses who have
intended to leave nursing have rarely been studied from
their own perspective. Second, in contrast to the majority
of previous studies that have mainly focused on turnover
intentions and not actual turnover, a unique feature of this
study is its longitudinal nature, which allows the reader to
follow nurses through the process of their career transition.
Third, nurses here provided stories of negative images and
stereotypes in relation to their intention to leave nursing; in
earlier studies of professional turnover, nurses’ own negative
stereotypes and images have not been significant factors in
causing an intention to leave. Furthermore, it provides unique
real-life contextual knowledge of young nurses’ experiences
of leaving a nursing career. This knowledge can be used as a
basis for further studies and in discussions concerning nurses’
intentions to leave nursing from a generational perspective.
More in-depth research is needed in order to better understand
why nurses leave, and even more significantly, what
could motive the younger generation of nurses to stay in
nursing. In addition, there is also a need for longitudina