Unit-based differences in compassion satisfaction, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and turnover intention among nurses in a tertiary hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Background: Nurses are increasingly vulnerable to occupational pressures that threaten their professional well-being. These challenges are particularly pronounced in high-acuity settings, where workload, emotional demands, and environmental stressors can impact compassion satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intention. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine whether there are significant differences in Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and Turnover Intentions among nurses based on their assigned clinical area and years of nursing experience in a tertiary hospital in Abu Dhabi. Methods: A descriptive-comparative design was used. Constructs were measured using validated instruments to assess whether significant differences existed in CS, BO, STS and TI across various nurse characteristics, inferential statistical tests were conducted. A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to examine differences across nurse characteristics, with significance set at Results: The study included a total sample of Conclusion: While nurse designation and years of experience were not associated with significant differences in professional quality of life, clinical unit assignment emerged as a key factor influencing turnover intention. These findings underscore the role of organizational and environmental conditions over demographic factors in shaping nurse retention. The trend of increased burnout and turnover intention among charge nurses suggests the need for improved leadership support and resilience-building initiatives, even though it is not statistically significant. These findings highlight the importance of implementing targeted strategies such as resilience training, structured mentorship, and leadership development programs to mitigate burnout and reduce turnover intention among nurses.