Leadership, job satisfaction and intention to leave among registered nurses in the North West and Free State provinces of South Africa.
BACKGROUND
The nurse leadership of a hospital is identified as the single most important aspect of the practice environment that impacts nurse outcomes. When nurses are satisfied with their jobs, they tend to remain with their employers and become more productive in their workplaces.


OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between leadership, job satisfaction and intentions to leave among registered nurses (RNs) working in hospitals in the North West and Free State provinces of South Africa.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The population (N = 680) with the sample (n = 204) included RNs in medical-surgical units in both private and public hospitals in the two provinces. Data were collected using the RN4CAST questionnaire.


RESULTS
RNs were satisfied with the items pertaining to leadership except for praise and recognition (55.7%). They also indicated high levels of overall job satisfaction (70.5%) but were dissatisfied with wages (50%), study leave (40.9%) and opportunities for advancement (40.1%). Furthermore, 46.1% of the RNs intended to leave their current hospitals. The results indicated a relationship between leadership and job satisfaction (r = 0.47; p = 0.00) and between intention to leave and job satisfaction (d = 0.50).


CONCLUSION
The nurse managers played a significant role influencing RN's level of job satisfaction, while job satisfaction was highly correlated with intention to leave. The nurse leadership can improve job satisfaction by giving praise and recognition to the RNs for jobs well done, and RNs should be afforded the opportunity to advance their careers through further studies.
['Sojane|Jeremia S|JS|', 'Klopper|Hester C|HC|', 'Coetzee|Siedine K|SK|']
D000328:Adult D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D033182:Intention D007588:Job Satisfaction D007857:Leadership D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009718:Nurse Administrators D009726:Nurses D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling D010563:Personnel Turnover D013019:South Africa D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Leadership job satisfaction intention to leave Nurse.