Table 3 Correlation among turnover intention, ethical climate, moral distress, and moral sensitivity (n = 123)

Ethical climate

− 0.549

< 0.001

Hospital

− 0.469

< 0.001

Physicians

− 0.447

< 0.001

Managers

− 0.422

< 0.001

Peers

− 0.350

< 0.001

Patients

− 0.115

0.203

Moral distress

0.456

< 0.001

Physician practice

0.526

< 0.001

Nursing practice

0.421

< 0.001

Institutional and contextual factor

0.421

< 0.001

Limit to claim the ethical issue

0.309

0.001

Futile care

0.268

0.003

Moral sensitivity

0.012

0.891

Patient-centred care

0.046

0.601

Professional responsibility

− 0.076

0.394

Conflict

0.132

0.137

Benevolence

0.038

0.668

Moral meaning

− 0.073

0.412