This descriptive, cross-sectional study examines the relationship of job satisfaction, turnover cognitions, job search behavior, and nurse demographics to work engagement among a sample of 167 registered nurses employed on medical and/or surgical units within six hospitals. Professional status, interaction, and thinking of quitting together explain 46%, F(3,160) = 47.546, p < .001, of the variance in work engagement. Additionally, the job satisfaction components of professional status and interaction are shown to significantly moderate the relationship between thinking of quitting and work engagement (t = 1.96, p < .05). Results suggest improvements in work environment processes that are consistent with professional status and interaction at work, such as integration of a professional nursing practice model and development and positioning of transformational leaders at every level of the organization, are needed.
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