Factors of influence on willingness to participate in the N3 nursing clinical ladder program

BACKGROUND: The professional nursing clinical ladder program can effectively enhance the professional morale of nursing staff and help retain the best senior nurses in clinical settings. Hence, it is important to explore factors that influence nurse staff intentions to participate in the clinical ladder. PURPOSE: This study examined factors that affect nurse staff intention to participate in the N3 nurse clinical ladder program. METHODS: We used a cross sectional study design and a structured questionnaire survey. We employed purposive sampling to recruit 389 nurse staffs qualified for promotion to the N3 level from a medical center in southern Taiwan. RESULTS: Findings showed: (1) Nearly two-thirds (233, 59.9%) of participants intended to participate in clinical ladder; (2) The factors of age, years of nursing experience, years in current position, project/research experience, promotion experience, and intention all significantly affected intent to participate in the ladder; (3) A significant difference between willingness to participate in the ladder program and each of the following variables--motivation, satisfaction, professional capacity, and sense of achievement; (4) Logistic regression analysis identified only motivation as a valid predictor of willingness to participate the ladder program (95% CI: 1.21-3.78). CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results provide a useful reference to nursing administrators for planning on-the-job training and increasing nurse staff participation in the ladder. The authors hope results can help promote better human resource management and achievements.