Objective  To compare the current situation and influencing factors of staff nurse retention between male and female nurses, so as to provide scientific basis for improving management methods and increasing job stability of nurses.

  Methods  Totally 421 nurses in 20 general hospitals in Guangdong Province were investigated by perceived professional benefits scale, psychological capital scale and the intention to remain employed scale. The structural equation model was used to analyze their direct and indirect effects and the causal relationship.

  Results  The score of perceived professional benefits was(4.01 ±0.61), the scores from high to low of each dimension were good nurse-patient relationship, self-development, belonging sense of team, recognition of relatives and friends, and positive career perception. The score of psychological capital was(3.94 ±0.60), the scores from high to low of each dimension were effectiveness, resilience, optimism and hope. The score of intention to remain employed was(3.64 ±0.72). The willingness of male nurses' intention to remain employed was much lower than that of female nurses(P < 0.05). Male nurses' scores of perceived professional benefits, positive professional perception, good nurse-patient relationship and self-development dimension were lower than that of female nurses(P < 0.05). There was no significant difference of the total psychological capital scores and scores in various dimensions between male and female nurses(P > 0.05). The structural equation model established by Amos 25.0 showed that the sense of professional benefit positively affects psychological capital(P < 0.05), and the positive effect of male nurses' sense of professional benefit on psychological capital was slightly higher than that of female nurses. Psychological capital had a positive impact on retention intention(P < 0.05), and the direct positive effect of female nurses' sense of professional benefit on retention intention was higher than that of male nurses. Psychological capital played an intermediary role in the influence of career benefit on retention intention(P < 0.01). The mediating effect of psychological capital of male nurses was 0.324 and that of female nurses was 0.221.

  Conclusions  Both male and female nurses had low psychological capital, poor willingness to remain employed in hospital, and male nurses had much lower score than female nurses. The degree of interaction among professional benefit, psychological capital and retention intention between male and female nurses was different. Hospital managers should fully consider the gender differences of nurses and formulate relevant intervention measures to improve nurses' retention intention.