How To Keep The Best Nurse Talents: Addressing Nurse Retention
Nurse retention has been plaguing hospitals around the country for years. Just last year, nurse turnover rose to an alarming 16.8%, emphasizing the issues connected with nurse retention. Also, a survey conducted for new RNs, 25% of registered nurses leave their first jobs within a year? Understanding these statistics are crucial for proper nurse staffing as well as the recruitment and retention of nurses in the hospital. Hospital administrators should understand the importance of nurse retention strategies for efficient hospital operations.
Low Nurse Retention: Problems and Solutions
It is important to identify the effects of low nurse retention and how hospital managers (including nurse leaders) can address these problems. Below are some problems caused by low nurse retention and the solutions to address these:
Problem #1: Low Nurse Retention Can Lead To Higher Staff Turnovers
If a hospital has low nurse retention, it can lead to increased staff turnovers. Low nurse retention is usually attributed to problems encountered while working at the hospital. These include working double shifts and nurse burnout. However, there are also those RNs who voluntarily resigned because they have to relocate or retire. Other nurses cited personal reasons as to why they have to leave their current jobs.
Solution:
Personal nurse mentoring can help struggling nurses to ease in their current job roles. A dedicated nurse mentor can advise newly hired nurses on how to go about their duties in the hospital, know what to expect while working in the hospital setting, as well as how to plan the trajectory of their nursing careers. Rookie nurses may feel relieved that they have a person of authority guiding them while starting out on their nursing career.
Problem #2: Low Nurse Retention Can Lead To Nursing Recruitment Problems
Low nurse retention can also put the unnecessary burden to recruiters. They will have to work overtime in order to fill the gaps left by nurses who already left the hospital. It is an intricate balance because they will also have to appease the nurses who are still working at the hospital. These highly skilled nurses could also be looking for better opportunities elsewhere if the hospital does not have the right staffing complement ratio. On the other hand, it may also be time-consuming to look for the perfect talent that will be able to help the hospital in its day-to-day operations.
Solution:
Nurse recruiters may have to reconsider their approach in terms of hiring new nurses in order to solve low nurse retention. In the selection process itself, recruiters may have to screen applicants not just on their technical know-how, but on how they relate to others as well. Even new nurse graduates seem to be well-trained already on the day-to-day hospital operations. What seems to be lacking is an established process of selecting candidates based on their behavior and other relational qualities. Nurses tend to work in teams. As such, hiring based on these qualities may help recruiters curb low nurse retention in the long run.
Problem #3: Low Nurse Retention Is An Indicator Of Unhappy Nurse Staff
Low nurse retention can be an indicator of other problematic areas in the management of nursing staff in the hospital. If a hospital has low nurse retention, it can be attributed to generally low morale of the nurses working there. Some examples of the causes of which can include low pay and unhealthy working environment.
Solution:
Hospital administrators can address these issues by listening to the nurses themselves. What do the nurses in the hospital really need? By conducting surveys or consultative meetings with the nurses, administrators can choose from several possible solutions to the things brought up by the nurses during the consultations or surveys.
Source: www.ena.org
The Cost of Nurse Retention
Nurse retention has its costs as well, both perceived and actual. Some of these costs include productivity costs, training costs, and actual costs to the lives of their patients. Each of them are discussed in detail in this section.
Costs Lives
Low nurse retention can actually cost lives. Overworked and underpaid nurses are prone to job-related errors that may be detrimental to their patients. This may also be costly to the hospital—when the patient’s family members sue the hospital for medical malpractice—when in fact, it is not entirely the fault of the nurses themselves. They are just driven to the wall because of too much work.
Productivity Costs
Usually, nurses who are already considering to leave have lower productivity rates than their counterparts. This may prove to be costly for running smooth hospital operations. The motivation of nurses is a huge factor affecting nurse retention. If the nurses are already demotivated in their work, they incur productivity costs to the institution as a whole. Even if they are present in the hospital, these nurses may be performing subpar due to lack of external or internal motivation.
Training Costs
In those areas that need the help of highly skilled nurses, most hospitals shell out money for in-depth training. Nurse administrators believe in the importance of continuous capacity development so that the nurses are kept up to date with the best practices in their areas. However, the alarming rates of low nurse retention can mean that hospitals have to shell out more for training costs. In addition, if there are new hires every month, nurse leaders have to spend more time training the new staff than actually focusing on the work at hand. The HR staff would also have to conduct additional trainings for these new hires that may eat up hospital savings or other budgetary allotments.
The effective nurse retention practices’ perceived benefits far outweigh its costs. Effective nurse retention starts even before the nurses are in the hospital itself. Nursing recruitment staff have a huge role to play in selecting the right talent, through conducting a series of interviews or tests to evaluate the behavioral competencies of the nurse candidates. Nurse mentoring also plays a role in curbing low nurse retention in any hospital. Most new nurses look up to their supervisors. If the nurse leaders themselves are the ones mentoring the new staff, it could be said that these nurses will likely stay in the hospital.
Does the hospital you’re connected to properly address nursing turnover? Make your voice be heard using the comment section below.
10 Ways To Build Your Nursing Network From Nurse Keith
How important is a nursing network to a nurse? Apparently, if you want to establish a successful nursing career, building new friendships is important. Advancement opportunities for nurses are well connected to a good nursing network. Your nursing network can let you know about nursing opportunities in and out of the state. Your nursing network can also let you in on important nursing news you might be missing out on.
This article from Nurse Keith enumerates how you can start building your nursing network. According to Nurse Keith, one of the ways to build your network is by being active on social media. Nurses have various social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. You can gain important friends just by adding and talking to the right people online.
Get to know more of Nurse Keith’s tips by reading the entire article here: Nurse Keith’s Top 10 Ways for Nurses to Network.
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Per Diem Nursing Job Openings in South Jersey Now
Nurses are mostly overworked and underpaid. In a typical hospital setting, nurses work extra hours with little to no extra pay. Per diem nursing jobs is the answer to this growing dilemma. You will be able to manage your schedule on your terms. These nursing job opportunities will definitely allow you to have the leisure time you need and deserve.
The hottest per diem nursing job opportunities are enumerated in this article. For example, there are Infusion Center Registered Nurse openings in Centennial Medical Plaza. There are also openings as RN Ambulatory in Cleveland Clinic.
Prepare your resume and apply now! Select the best openings for you by clicking this link: 20 Best RN Jobs (Hiring Now!)
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Best Nursing Job Search Engines Revealed
Nursing job search engines help you identify current nursing job opportunities. Most job search engines also include the contact person and the requirements you need to pass the position.
This article ranks the top nursing job search engines. This will help you lessen the stress of manual job search. Knowing the top search engines will also lead you to the best nursing job opportunities available. According to this article, LinkedIn tops the job search engine list. You can easily search for jobs based on keyword, title, and location.
See the full list of nursing job search engines with their pros and cons here:
Infographic: Ranking the Career Sites That Can Help You Land Your Next Job
