Organizational commitment and turnover intention among rural nurses in the Philippines: Implications for nursing management

OBJECTIVES: The unrelenting migration trend of Filipino nurses to other countries has threatened the quality of patient care services in the country. This study explored the extent of nurses' organizational commitment and turnover intention in the Philippines. Furthermore, predictors of nurses’ organizational commitment and turnover intention were identified. METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was adopted for this study. Two hundred nurses from nine rural hospitals in the Central Philippines were asked to participate in the study and 166 nurses responded (an 83% response rate). Two standardized instruments were used: the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and the Six-item Turnover Intention Inventory Scale. RESULTS: Findings revealed that Philippine nurses were moderately committed (3.13 ± 0.24) to and were undecided (2.42 ± 0.67) whether or not to leave their organization. Nurses' age (P = 0.006), gender, (t = -2.25, P = 0.026), education (t = 2.38, P < 0.001), rank(t = 4.38, P < 0.001), and work experience (t = 2.18, P = 0.031) correlated significantly with organizational commitment, while nurses’ age (P = 0.028) and education (t = 1.99, P = 0.048) correlated significantly with turnover intention. An inverse relationship was identified between the organizational commitment and turnover intention (r = −0.22, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight the need for formulation and implementation of interventions to promote life-long commitment in nurses and to reduce turnover rates.