Abstract:

The profession of a nurse is in itself extremely difficult due to the stressful working conditions. They are result of a high level of responsibility for human health and even life, and therefore require not only extensive knowledge, rich experience and properly developed skills; it also requires appropriate legal and organizational conditions for nurses to feel satisfied with their work and want to fulfill it until they reach retirement age.

Meanwhile, statistics show that a significant proportion of nursing graduates do not take up employment in the profession at all, even though there are relatively many job offers, because in Poland there is a shortage of nursing staff. The reasons for not taking up work in a learned profession may lie in very low salaries and the lack of prestige of the nursing profession. However, what additional factors cause that those nurses who nevertheless decided to take up work in the profession, after some time quit it? What made them become discouraged or even burned out so much that they decided to give up their work?

The main aim of the article is to present the main reasons for the resignation of nurses from practicing their profession, as well as the related reflection on the management of healthcare organizations in Poland (with particular emphasis on people management). An electronic research form was used to investigate the reasons nurses leave profession. The conclusions of the study allowed to formulate specific recommendations for decision-makers of the healthcare system in Poland, as well as for the management staff of public healthcare institutions (i.e. for directors, department managers, department nurses, etc.).

Keywords:

Change of profession, management of healthcare organizations, nursing staff management, people management, professional development.