The purpose of this study was to develop and test an structural equation model for new graduate nurses' intent to stay. The hypothetical model was constructed on the basis of model of clinical nurses' intent to stay by Cowden & Cummings (2012) and previous studies related to influencing and related factors of intent to stay of new graduate nurses and nurses.

The participants were 277 new graduate nurses from five general hospitals with 300~500 beds and three general hospitals with 700~1000 beds and two university hospitals located in P, U, G metropolitan cities, M city in Gyeongsangnamdo, G city in Gyeongsangbukdo and S city in Jeollanamdo.

Data were collected from October 6 to October 23, 2020.

Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and structural equation modelling by SPSS/Win 21.0 program and AMOS 21.0 program.

The results of this study were as follows.

1. Final model showed good fit to the empirical data (χ2/df＝1.85, RMR＝.03, RMSEA＝.06, GFI＝.92, AGFI＝.87, NFI＝.92, TLI＝.94, CFI＝.96).

2. Hypothesis testing of the study showed:

1) Among 18 hypotheses, 27 hypotheses were supported.

2) The variables affecting organizational commitment of new graduate nurses were nursing work environment (γ＝.48, p＜.001), grit (γ＝.19, p＜.001), social support (γ＝.16, p＝.008), educational training satisfaction (γ＝.12, p＝.011), work shock (γ＝-.12, p＝.015), and pay satisfaction (γ＝.08, p＝.033), whereas optimism and clinical competence did not show any effects. Variables of the final model accounted for 69.9% of the organizational commitment of new graduate nurses.

3) The variables affecting job satisfaction of new graduate nurses were grit (γ＝.45, p＝.026), organizational commitment (β＝.25, p＜.001), social support (γ＝.18, p＝.049), optimism (γ＝.15, p＝.012), and clinical competence (γ＝.12, p＝.014), whereas educational training satisfaction, nursing work environment, pay satisfaction, and work shock did not show any effects. Variables of the final model accounted for 65.7% of the job satisfaction of new graduate nurses.

4) The variables affecting intent to stay of new graduate nurses were grit (γ＝.60, p＝.008), organizational commitment (β＝.26, p＝.011), job satisfaction (β＝.25, p＝.003), optimism (γ＝.22, p＝.013), social support (γ＝.15, p＝.032), and nursing work environment (γ＝.11, p＝.018), and work shock (γ＝-.05, p＝.005), whereas clinical competence, education training satisfaction, and pay satisfaction did not show any effects. Variables of the final model accounted for 65.4% of the intent to stay of new graduate nurses.

In conclusion, the model for new graduate nurses' intent to stay constructed in this study is recommended as a model to explain and predict the intent to stay of new graduate nurses. The results suggest that strategies for increasing the intent to stay of new graduate nurses should focus on grit, optimism, social support, nursing work environment, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and work shock.