Nursing Outlook· 2026Q1
Will they stay? A survey of nursing bridging students’ intentions for retention in long-term and home and community care sectors
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Retention intentions for nursing bridging students in long-term care (LTC) and home and community care (HCC) differ by educational pathway and timeline, with work engagement being a key predictor for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) students over 3, 5, and 10 years.
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Key points
- Retention intentions for nursing bridging students in LTC/HCC vary by educational pathway (PN vs. BScN) and retention timeline (3, 5, 10 years).
- For PN students, older age and personal accomplishment predicted greater intention to stay.
- For BScN students, work engagement predicted retention intentions at 3, 5, and 10 years.
- Previous sector experience and older age also predicted short-term (3-year) and longer-term (5- and 10-year) retention intentions for BScN students, respectively.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Retention of nurses in long-term care (LTC) and home and community care (HCC) remains critical; however, less is known about factors that influence nurses' intentions to remain in these sectors. Nursing bridging students represent an important emerging workforce as they transition into new nursing roles within these sectors. PURPOSE: This study explored differentiating characteristics of nursing bridging students' retention intentions in LTC and HCC. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional pilot study employed a survey co-designed with nursing knowledge users was distributed by a provincial nursing association to nurse bridging education students with a return-of-service commitment in LTC or HCC. Respondents rated their likelihood of remaining in the sector over 3, 5, and 10 years. Validated measures assessed psychological empowerment, work engagement, career commitment, resilience, burnout, and prosocial motivation. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted separately for Practical Nurse (PN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) bridging students. DISCUSSION: In total, 174 respondents were included. Among PN students, higher age (p = .01) and personal accomplishment (p < .05) predicted greater intention to stay. Income predicted short-term retention intentions at 3 years (p = .01) only. Among BScN bridging students, work engagement predicted retention intentions at 3, 5, and 10 years (p < .05). Previous sector experience predicted short-term intentions at 3 years (p = .03), while older age predicted longer-term intentions at 5 and 10 years (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Predictors of retention intentions differed by bridging pathway and timeline. Retention strategies should be tailored to educational pathway and work experiences, fostering personal accomplishment and work engagement.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nursing Outlook, 2026 · DOI ↗
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