Turnover among Filipino nurses in Ministry of Health hospitals in Saudi Arabia: causes and recommendations for improvement

BACKGROUND: Nurse turnover is a critical challenge for healthcare organizations as it results in a decreasing nurse/patient ratio and increasing costs. AIM: Identify factors influencing the termination of Filipino nurses in Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals and record nurse recommendations to improve retention. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. METHODS: Data was gathered from a convenience sample of Filipino nurses with previous experience in MOH hospitals in Saudi Arabia who attended recruitment interviews at the Saudi employment office in Manila. RESULTS: The sample included 124 nurses. Major turnover factors included low salary (18.3%), low nurse/patient ratio (15%), end of contract (14.5%), discrimination (13.5%), and bad accommodations (9%). Suggested areas of improvement included financial motivations (34%), administration support (25%), quality of life (25%), and work environment (16%). CONCLUSION: Managing nurse turnover can be implemented on the organizational as well as at MOH levels. The recommendations given by the participants provide direct targets to improve retention. LIMITATIONS: With convenience sampling, the sample is probably not representative of the Filipino nursing population.