This study investigated how engagement, job satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation will affect retention among nurses. A sample of 150 nurses (CNAs, LPNs, and RNs) employed at medical centers in Sioux City (IA-SD-NE) and Carbondale, Illinois was selected using cluster random sampling. Employee engagement (Independent-Variable1) was measured against the Utrecht Work Engagement Survey (UWES), job satisfaction (Independent-Variable2) was measured against the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), and intrinsic motivation (Independent-Variable3) was measured against the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). The study followed a sequential transformative design, with all research questions or hypotheses examined through multinomial regression, which indicated the odds ratio of nurses’ decision or intent to leave or stay against leaving their current position. The regression analysis showed that intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction were significantly more likely to predict nurses’ intent to leave than employee engagement. The interviews showed employee engagement, job satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation to be an important part of the nurses’ decision to leave or stay