Abstract
There are approximately 28 million nurses worldwide (Buchan and Catton, 2023), all of whom play a critical role in the goal of "leaving no one behind" and the worldwide endeavors to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (McCarthy et al., 2020). To fulfil SDG3, WHO (2022) indicated that for all countries to achieve the targets set out on health and well-being, the world will need an additional 9 million nurses and midwives by the year 2030. These shortages have led WHO to classify nurses as an “at risk” group. It is therefore critical that health care organizations prioritize career development and progression for nurses to increase retention rates. To help combat these shortages, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has called on international policymakers and national and local decision-makers to act swiftly to create and maximize a long-lasting, robust, and sustainable nursing workforce. A central theme running through this charter “to rebuild health systems that can deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage to improve global health” (Buchan and Catton, 2023, 3). Of particular interest to this study is point number 5 of the charter: “Invest in high-quality, accredited nursing education programmes to prepare more new nurses and advance career development for existing nurses”, which will support career progression from generalist to specialist and advanced practioners within the sector (Buchan and Catton, 2023, 3). While studies to date have been useful in breaking career aspirations of nurses into individual, job/work environment and organizational level factors, no study that we are aware of look at the relationship between the variables across different categories. Therefore in our study we apply an eco-system perspective to the examination of turnover intentions.