Purpose: This study was done to explore the relationship between expectations of the clinical ladder system (CLS), career commitment and turnover intention in nurses employed in small-medium sized hospitals. Methods: Participants were 154 nurses from 3 small-medium sized hospitals in Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju City. From February, 8 to April, 14, 2017, self-report questionnaires were collected and analyzed using frequency, t-test, ANOVA, $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test, and Person correlation coefficients. Results: Of the participant nurses, 61% perceived the CLS as needed. The mean score for expectation of CLS, career commitment, and turnover intention on 5-point scale were 3.38, 3.17, 3.21, respectively. There were no significant differences in expectation of CLS according to general characteristics, but career commitment and turnover intention did show significant differences depending on age, position, type of work shift. Expectation of CLS correlated positively with career commitment (r=.23, p=.005), and career commitment correlated negatively with turnover intention (r=-.49, p<.001). Conclusion: The results of this study show that there is a need to adopt the clinical ladder system to improve career commitment.