중소병원 간호활성화를 위한 현황조사 연구

Abstract

Purpose: This study was done to identify the causes of turnover in nursing staff in small and medium‐size hospitals and prepare measures to decrease turnover. Nurses in these hospitals were surveyed focusing on their nursing activities, reasons for turnover, and content of their work. Method: A mail survey of hospitals with 300 beds or less was conducted using a questionnaire including items on the current state of nursing, performance of nursing tasks, turnover of nurses, working conditions, and supports and policies related to insufficient number of nurses. Results: The average number of nurses per 100 beds was 37.5, 3.3 less than the prescribed level of 40.8. The turnover rate was higher when the level of remuneration for nursing care was low, and the most frequent reason for nurses leaving was ‘move to another hospital’, showing that there is a continuous chain of moves for nurses. Other frequent reasons were situations related to working conditions such as childbirth, child care, irregular working hours, night work, and low wages. Conclusion: To guarantee adequate nursing coverage in these hospitals, working conditions for nurses should be improved, including higher wages, a more flexible work system, and installation and operation of 24‐hour child care facilities.