The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Desire to Emigrate among the Nurses of Public Hospitals in Tehran

The emigration process of nurses as the main human resources of the health system is worrying. The study aimed to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and the desire to emigrate among the nurses in Tehran.

This correlational study was performed on the nurses of public hospitals in Tehran. We used random classified sampling to determine the hospitals. A research questionnaire was also used, including three sections: demographic information, job satisfaction, and desire to emigrate. The content validity of the questionnaire was 9.5, and the obtained Cronbach’s alpha was 0.89. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data.

The average level of the desire to emigrate was high (30.2). The job satisfaction of the participants was reported to be moderate. There was a significant negative correlation between job satisfaction and desire to emigrate (p < 0.05, r =-0.24). The correlation between job satisfaction aspects, including the job situation, job environment, salary and benefits, and social attitude to the nursing profession with the desire to emigrate, was also meaningful. However, there was not any statistical relationship between colleagues in the job environment and the job’s effect on the personal life and the desire to emigrate.

This study showed that the nurses had a high desire to emigrate. There was a significant relationship between the desire to emigrate and the job satisfaction of nurses. Increasing the satisfaction of different aspects of the job can prevent the educated and valuable members in the healthcare system from leaving the country.