Perhaps more than any other, the health-care industry depends on its ability to attract and retain professionals. In recent years this has been made difficult by chronic shortages of certain professionals. Nurses, in particular, have been difficult to attract and retain. In the past year the job market in nursing has changed. Where there were large numbers of unfilled positions there are now waiting lists for nurses wanting employment. In such a tight job market turnover should decrease but the problems of motivation remain. The present time affords a unique opportunity to investigate how changing perceptions of themselves and their jobs affect the performance of nurses. The purpose of the research is to determine the effects that job satisfaction and commitment have upon the job performance and turnover of hospital staff nurses. The results should suggest steps that nurse managers can take to remedy problems related to job dissatisfaction and low commitment. While our central interests are the variables of commitment and satisfaction, many other variables that could be related to these and to the dependent variables of performance, absenteeism, and turnover will be measured. Data will be collected by questionnaires and from personnel files. Newly employed nurses will be asked to fill out questionnaires when they are hired, at six months and at 12 months on the job. Job performance will be collected at 12 months' employment; absenteeism and turnover will be collected monthly. Job performance measures will include sefl-rating and supervisor-ratings. Turnover will be determined by whether the nurse voluntarily stays in or leaves the job. The data collection will continue until there are 250 nurses in the sample. The researchers' long-term goal is to develop a program of research related to nursing administration that would have significant implications for nurse managers and others concerned with the study and management of emerging professions.
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