Objective:

To examine the relationships among nursing interns’ perceived professional benefits, work engagement, and psychological capital, highlighting the significance of these factors in promoting workforce stability.

Key Findings:

• Nursing interns had a work engagement score of 30.17 ± 7.83, indicating moderate engagement levels.
• Psychological capital score was 84.66 ± 13.99, suggesting a positive psychological state.
• Perceived professional benefits score was 67.14 ± 8.52, reflecting the interns' views on their professional gains.
• Positive correlations were found: work engagement and perceived professional benefits (r = 0.480, P < 0.001), work engagement and psychological capital (r = 0.480, P < 0.001), psychological capital and perceived professional benefits (r = 0.506, P < 0.001), indicating strong interrelations.
• Psychological capital significantly mediated the relationship between work engagement and perceived professional benefits, accounting for 36.04% of the total effect.

Interpretation:

The findings suggest that enhancing nursing interns’ work engagement and psychological capital may increase their perceived professional benefits, which could lead to improved retention rates in the nursing workforce.

Limitations:

• Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences; future studies should consider longitudinal designs.
• Data collected from a single region may affect generalizability; expanding the study to multiple regions could provide broader insights.

Conclusion:

Clinical nursing administrators should enhance nursing interns’ work engagement through targeted programs and cultivate their psychological capital via mentorship and support, thereby strengthening their professional identity and workforce stability.