Job leaving intentions and occupation-related beliefs amongst preregistered dental nurses in Scotland: the mediating role of work engagement and personal accomplishment

OBJECTIVES: To identify the job resource beliefs of preregistration dental nurses and subsequently investigate their relationship with work engagement, personal accomplishment and intention to leave amongst this occupational group in Scotland. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Personal accomplishment (a subscale of Maslach Burnout Inventory) and author-developed questions for job resource beliefs and intention to leave were the measuring instruments used. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-one dental nurses participated (82% response rate). Mean age was 25 and mean job tenure was 17.5 months. The job resource belief most valued was 'good working relationship'. A multiple mediated path analytical model was explored. Work engagement adjusted for job resource beliefs was very strongly negatively associated with intention to leave (-0.93). There was an indirect relationship between job resource beliefs and intention to leave (-0.28) mediated via work engagement and personal accomplishment. CONCLUSIONS: Dental nurses under training held job resource beliefs about their profession that were associated with work engagement, personal accomplishment and their stability of remaining in the job.