Career needs, career development programmes, organizational commitment and turnover intention of nurses in Taiwan.

AIM: This study divided nursing careers into four stages: exploration, establishment, maintenance and disengagement. Besides exploring whether nurses have different career needs at different career stages, this study also examines the gap between career needs and career development programmes, and its relationship with organizational commitment and turnover intention of nurses in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have recognized that nurses' careers have different stages, a few studies have identified nurses' career needs or offered programmes to respond to nurses' needs.

METHOD: Through a literature review and in-depth interviews, this study developed a scale to measure career needs of nurses at different stages and identify the appropriate career development programmes. Additionally, regression analyses were implemented to explore the relationships objectively.

RESULTS: Nurses were found to have different career needs at different career stages, and the gap between career needs and career development programmes influenced turnover intention caused by the decline in nurses' commitment towards the hospital.

CONCLUSIONS: If hospitals' administrators can provide career development programmes to satisfy career needs of nurses at different career stages, then nurses' commitment to the hospital may increase and nurses' turnover intention may decrease, which may lead to reciprocity between the hospital and the nurses.