Work, work environments and other factors influencing nurse faculty intention to remain employed: A cross-sectional study

Background: Given the role nurse faculty have in educating nurses, little is known about what influences their intention to remain employed (ITR) in academic settings. Objectives: Findings from a nurse faculty survey administered to test a conceptual model of factors hypothesized as influencing nurse faculty ITR are reported. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Setting: We included colleges and universities in Ontario, Canada. Participants: The population of Ontario nurse faculty who reported being employed as nurse faculty with the College of Nurses of Ontario (Canada) was included. Of the 1328 nurse faculty who were surveyed, 650 participated. Methods: Participants completed a questionnaire with measures of work, work environment, job satisfaction, burnout and ITR. Regression analyses were conducted to test the model. Results: Ten of 26 independent variables explained 25.4% of variance in nurse faculty ITR for five years. These variables included: proximity to retirement, quality of relationships with colleagues, being employed full time, having dependents, satisfaction with work-life balance, quality of education, satisfaction with job status, access to financial support for education from organization, access to required human resources and being unionized. Conclusions: Although not all influencing factors are modifiable, academic leadership should develop strategies that encourage nurse faculty ITR. Strategies that support collegial relationships among faculty, increase the number of full time positions, promote work-life balance, engage faculty in assessing and strengthening education quality, support faculty choice between full-time and part-time work, and ensure adequate human resources required to teach effectively will lead to heightened nurse faculty ITR.