Work motivation is an important factor affecting the quality and content of work-related outcomes in health services. For nurses, motivation is defined as an attitude towards their duties (Koch et al., 2014). Factors affecting work motivation include workplace characteristics, working conditions, personal characteristics, individual priorities and internal psychological states (Toode et al., 2011). However, little is known about the factors affecting nurses' motivation (Koch et al., 2014). Work motivation of nurses may decrease due to increasing demands and difficulties in health services (Toode et al., 2011). To increase the work motivation of nurses, it is recommended to ensure team cooperation, give autonomy and learning opportunities, reduce workload, regulate working hours, and give rewards and promotions (Koch et al., 2014). At the same time, it is also recommended to increase work performance to increase work motivation (Taghavi Larijani et al., 2007).

Work performance is defined as activities and behaviours that contribute to corporate goals under the control of individuals. The work performance of nurses is their effectiveness in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities related to patient care (Sarıkose & Goktepe, 2022). Factors affecting the job performance of nurses include colleague solidarity, professional experience and competence, teamwork, effective communication, administrative and organizational support, and problem-solving skills of managers (Zefrial, 2018). It is stated that adequate work performance will increase the quality of patient care and patient satisfaction. Monitoring the performance of nurses so patients receive safe and quality care is one of the important responsibilities of executive nursing. It is recommended to determine the factors affecting work performance and to create necessary strategies (Sarıkose & Goktepe, 2022).

Both work motivation and work performance are thought to be effective in nurse turnover. The low number of nurses is a problem all over the world and this problem jeopardises qualified patient care. It is thought that the low number of nurses is because the nursing profession is not preferred or nurses leave their jobs (Koch et al., 2014). The turnover of nurses is a critical issue for institutions that directly affect patient care. The workforce of nurses is an important factor in the quality of patient care, and the turnover of nurses increases the need for qualified nurses. Factors affecting nurses' turnover include work satisfaction, organizational commitment, quality of work life, work environment, leadership style, workplace bullying, family reasons and job security (Al Zamel et al., 2020). For nurses to stay at work, it is recommended to increase their motivation and performance and encourage and actively support them (Koch et al., 2014; Sasso et al., 2019).

It is stated that it is important to increase work motivation and performance and to prevent nurses from leaving their jobs to increase and maintain the quality of patient care in health services (Al Zamel et al., 2020; Sarıkose & Goktepe, 2022; Toode et al., 2011). It is important to examine the work motivation, performance and turnover intentions of nurses working in surgical units, which are stressful environments due to rapid patient change, development of emergencies, high risk of complications, and sensitive and critical patient care. A wide variety of acute diseases are treated in surgical units and nurses working in surgical units have an important place in perioperative patient care and hospital workforce. It is stated that surgical clinics are one of the most challenging nursing areas and the workload of nurses is high (Phillips, 2020).

When the literature is examined, there are studies examining the work motivation, work performance or turnover intentions of nurses (Astiti & Surya, 2020; Austin et al., 2020; Dyrbye et al., 2019; Sarıkose & Goktepe, 2022; Yıldız et al., 2009). However, studies examining the work motivation, performance or turnover intentions of surgical nurses specifically for surgical nurses are more limited (Gusar et al., 2020; Minkyung et al., 2022; Xu et al., 2023). The limited number of studies focusing on work motivation, work performance and turnover intention of surgical nurses reveals the necessity of this research. The scientific gap in this field prevents an adequate understanding of the effects on work motivation and work performance of surgical nurses and thus makes it difficult to evaluate the possible outcomes that may affect the quality of patient care. This study aims to examine the relationship between work motivation, work performance, and turnover intentions among surgical nurses, with the goal of identifying factors that influence these variables and their potential impact on nurse retention and patient care quality.

Research questions:

-What is the level of work motivation of surgical nurses?

-What is the level of work performance of surgical nurses?

-What are the turnover intentions of surgical nurses?

-What is the relationship between work motivation, work performance and turnover intention of surgical nurses?