Little is known about nursing employment patterns, and even less is known about how these patterns vary by race. Previous assumptions about the employment patterns of registered nurses may have overlooked the influence of important nurse characteristics and led to inadequate or misdirected recruitment and retention actions.

In this study, nurse employment behaviors were conceptualized as entering, moving, leaving, staying, and returning. Employment patterns were modeled using logistic regression and a sample of 4,779 European-American and non-European-American nurses employed in the southeastern United States, which was drawn from the 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses.

Results indicate that non-European-American nurses were more likely to move (change jobs and/or employers) than were European-American nurses. There were no other significant differences in employment patterns by race. Thus, some, but not all, nursing employment behaviors differ by race. Knowledge of factors that influence nurses' employment behaviors are important in developing informed organizational policies that address the changing needs of nurses and their patients.

Research supported under a Cooperative Agreement from the Bureau of Health Professions, HRSA.