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Research ArticleResearchStaffing & WellbeingQuality Improvement

Structured coaching improved nurse wellbeing and intention to stay in a multicenter trial

International journal of nursing studies (PubMed)May 17, 2026

AI-summarized from the linked source. Educational brief, not medical advice.

Brief summary

A multicenter randomized trial of 400 nurses found that a group session plus four individual coaching sessions improved self-reported psychological wellbeing, job satisfaction, goal-setting proficiency, and intention to remain in nursing compared with standard support.

What NurseJet pulled from the source

After adjustment, the coaching group reported an 8.70-point greater psychological-wellbeing score and an 11.22-point greater job-satisfaction score after the intervention. Intention-to-leave scores also favored coaching, but the trial did not measure actual long-term retention and did not improve every occupational-stressor or social-support outcome.

Why this matters for nurses

Nursing leaders need tested workforce supports that go beyond one-time wellness messaging. This trial suggests that a structured coaching program can improve several nurse-reported outcomes while leaving open whether it changes actual turnover or underlying workplace stressors.

Bedside takeaway

Structured coaching may support nurse wellbeing and retention intentions, but it should complement action on organizational working conditions.

How This Applies in Practice

Use this when: Designing or evaluating an organizational coaching program intended to support nurse wellbeing, job satisfaction, and retention.

On your shift

  • Define coach qualifications, confidentiality boundaries, protected participation time, referral pathways, and equitable access before enrollment begins.
  • Track program reach, session completion, wellbeing, job satisfaction, intention to leave, and objective retention over a prespecified follow-up period.
  • Review coaching findings alongside staffing, workload, psychological safety, leadership responsiveness, and other modifiable organizational conditions.
Keep in mind: Coaching is not evidence that workplace hazards can be shifted onto individual nurses. Follow organizational policy, local workforce protocols, and escalation processes.

Key takeaways

  • The trial randomized 400 nurses from tertiary hospitals and public outpatient clinics in one Singapore health-system cluster.
  • The intervention combined one group coaching session with four individual sessions in addition to existing workplace support.
  • Adjusted post-intervention differences favored coaching for psychological wellbeing, goal-setting proficiency, job satisfaction, and intention to leave nursing.
  • The authors call for objective retention measures, longer follow-up, and cluster randomization in future studies.

Practice implications

  • For a coaching program, protect participation time, define coach preparation and confidentiality, monitor reach and completion, and measure wellbeing and job outcomes over time. Pair individual support with review of staffing, workload, psychological safety, and organizational barriers.

Limitations & cautions

  • Outcomes were self-reported and measured shortly after the intervention; actual retention and long-term durability were not established. Participants came from one Singapore public health-system cluster, individual randomization may permit contamination, and coaching did not resolve all occupational stressor or social-support measures.
  • AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.

Citations

Exact source links

Public citations are filtered to exact credible source pages. Homepage-only or invalid links stay in admin review and are not shown here.

International journal of nursing studies (PubMed)

International journal of nursing studies (PubMed). Impact of ontological coaching on well-being, job outcomes, and retention intentions in nurses: A multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Open original source

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42143828/

Professional education only

This summary does not replace clinical judgment, facility policy, provider orders, or official guidelines. Verify practice changes against the original source and local protocol.

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