Experience of Registered Nurses Returning to Practice After Resignation
Keywords:
After resignation, Experience, Registered nurse, Returning to practiceAbstract
The shortage of registered nurses is affecting the overall healthcare system. Understanding the factors influencing nurses’ decisions to leave the profession and their subsequent return is therefore an important area of inquiry. This study employed qualitative descriptive research with the objective of exploring the experiences of registered nurses regarding resignation and return to practice. The participants consisted of 20 registered nurses who had previously resigned and later decided to return to the profession, recruited through purposive sampling. The research instruments included the researcher, personal notes, field notes, an audio recorder, and a semi-structured in-depth interview guide. Data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews, and analysis followed the conventional content analysis approach described by Hsieh and Shannon.
The findings revealed that the experiences of registered nurses regarding resignation and return to practice had three main themes comprising nine subthemes:
1. Causes for resignation consisted of three subthemes: 1) exhaustion leading to burnout, 2) inadequate compensation relative to cost of living, and 3) desire to pursue new and challenging experiences and to follow personal aspirations.
2. Reasons for returning to practice consisted of four subthemes: 1) a sense of familiarity and comfort in the former workplace, 2) recognition of opportunities for growth and self-development, 3) improved welfare and compensation, and 4) pride in being part of the organization.
3. Key factors in retaining nurses within the organization consisted of two subthemes: 1) the transmission of a positive organizational culture that facilitates effective practice in line with genera-tional needs, and 2) appropriate workload management.
The results of this study provide valuable insights for nursing administrators in developing policies and strategies aimed at enhancing motivation, strengthening support systems, and promoting sustainable retention of registered nurses within the workforce.
References
Alsadaan, N., Salameh, B., Reshia, F. A. A. E., Alruwaili, R. F., Alruwaili, M., Awad Ali, S. A., Alruwaili, A. N., Hefnawy, G. R., Alshammari, M. S. S., Alrumayh, A. G. R., Alruwaili, A. O., & Jones, L. K. (2023). Impact of nurse leaders’ behaviors on nursing staff performance: A systematic review of literature. Inquiry, 60, 469580231178528. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580231178528
de Vries, N., Boone, A., Godderis, L., Bouman, J., Szemik, S., Matranga, D., & de Winter, P. (2023). The race to retain healthcare workers: A systematic review on factors that impact retention of nurses and physicians in hospitals. Inquiry, 60, 469580231159318. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580231159318
Drennan, V. M., & Ross, F. (2019). Global nurse shortages: The facts, the impact and action for change. British Medical Bulletin, 130(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldz014
Galanis, P., Moisoglou, I., Katsiroumpa, A., Gallos, P., Kalogeropoulou, M., Meimeti, E., & Vraka, I. (2025). Workload increases nurses' quiet quitting, turnover intention, and job burnout: Evidence from Greece. AIMS Public Health, 12(1), 44-55. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2025004
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
Jones, C. H., & Dolsten, M. (2024). Healthcare on the brink: Navigating the challenges of an aging society in the United States. NPJ Aging, 10(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-024-00148-2
Kelly, L. A., Gee, P. M., & Butler, R. J. (2021). Impact of nurse burnout on organizational and position turnover. Nursing Outlook, 69(1), 96–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.06.008
Kira, M., & van Eijnatten, F. M. (2020). Human and social sustainability in work organizations. Sustainability, 12(24), 10459. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410459
Kongcheep, S., Arpanantikul, M., Pinyopasakul, W., & Sherwood, G. (2022). Thai nurses’ experiences of providing care in overcrowded emergency rooms in tertiary hospitals. Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, 26(3), 533-548.
Krates, J., Patanavanichanan, N., Pratanvorapanya, W., Trainattawan, W., Thangkratok, P., & Srithumsuk, W. (2021). Factors influencing work retention of professional nurse under the Ministry of Public Health. Journal of Health Science, 30(3), 561-573. (in Thai)
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2021). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Pressley, C., & Garside, J. (2023). Safeguarding the retention of nurses: A systematic review on determinants of nurse’s intentions to stay. Nursing Open, 10(5), 2842-2858. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1588
Saengcharnchai, U. (2024). Nursing shortage: Thai public health problems and policy proposals. Academic Graduate Journal, 2(2), 26-36. (in Thai)
Sandelowski, M. (2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health, 23(4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240x(200008)23:4<334::aid-nur9>3.0.co;2-g
Shaban, M., Mohammed, H. H., Gomaa Mohamed Amer, F., Shaban, M. M., Abdel-Aziz, H. R., & Ibrahim, A. M. (2024). Exploring the nurse–patient relationship in caring for the health priorities of older adults: Qualitative study. BMC Nursing, 23(1), 480.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02099-1
Tamata, A. T., & Mohammadnezhad, M. (2023). A systematic review study on the factors affecting shortage of nursing workforce in the hospitals. Nursing Open, 10(3), 1247-1257. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1434
van der Baan, N. A., Meinke, G., Virolainen, M. H., Beausaert, S., & Gast, I. (2025). Retention of newcomers and factors influencing turnover intentions and behaviour: A review of the literature. Education+ Training, 67(1), 107-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2023-0240
Van Merode, F., Groot, W., & Somers, M. (2024). Slack is needed to solve the shortage of nurses. Healthcare, 12(2), 220. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12020220
Wakefield, M. K., Williams, D. R., Le Menestrel, S., & Flaubert, J. L. (2021). The future of nursing 2020–2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. National Academies Press. https://www.nmnec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Future-of-Nursing-2020-2030.pdf
World Health Organization. (2020). State of the world’s nursing 2020: Investing in education, jobs and leadership. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240003279
Yamamoto, K., Nasu, K., Nakayoshi, Y., & Takase, M. (2024). Sustaining the nursing workforce-exploring enabling and motivating factors for the retention of returning nurses: A qualitative descriptive design. BMC Nursing, 23(1), 248. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01900-5
Ye, H., Zou, P., D’Souza, D., Xu, W., Shen, X., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, C. (2023). Experiences of nurses returning to work after the second/third childbirth and organizational support in Southeastern China: A qualitative exploration. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 13(8), 8-18. https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v13n8p8
Zheng, D. (2023). Exploring the effects of break nurses on nursing staff burnout. Journal of Hospital Administration, 12(2), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.5430/jha.v12n2p38
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nursing Journal CMU
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
บทความที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์เป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของวารสารพยาบาลสาร
ข้อความที่ปรากฏในบทความแต่ละเรื่องในวารสารวิชาการเล่มนี้เป็นความคิดเห็นส่วนตัวของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับมหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่ และคณาจารย์ท่านอื่นๆในมหาวิทยาลัยฯ แต่อย่างใด ความรับผิดชอบองค์ประกอบทั้งหมดของบทความแต่ละเรื่องเป็นของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่าน หากมีความผิดพลาดใด ๆ ผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านจะรับผิดชอบบทความของตนเองแต่ผู้เดียว
