Nurse Retention..........

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

I like what i do, is one reason i stay.

The supervisor has the open door policy and is good with her job.

Tuition reimbursement.

We are given discounts at the local gym (HALF PRICE), extra benefits at a bank, an ATM at work FOR that bank, discounts at a local scrub shop, discounts at the local Dansko retailer.

Keysnurse2008 · Feb 11, 2006

Honesty in the management. My last nurse manager lied so much...she couldnt keep her lies straight. She would say "x" happened on april 3rd.Then seconds later she'd be documenting that "x" did occur on April 6th.She told lies and could never manage to keep her "stories " the same.To assist in retention evaluate your managers and make sure they are not...just providing you just "lip service" on what a great manager they are. Are they present for "all" staff routinely each week for at least 4 hours of each shift (7a-7p and 7p-7a shifts) for staff?At least one day a week do they work 2pm-10pm...or are they strictly 8-4am? So honest management .If your managers are having trouble "rememebering" which story they fed the staff....they have no moral fiber and are probably just poisioning the work environment.I have been a nurse many years....and when poor management is there.....except for new grads ( who will learn better with experience) nurses leave for facilities with the known reputation of being "honest" and employee friendly re: wages .

Promote an environment for "taking that vacation time off"...it helps alleviate burnout and aids in retention via work-life balance!

markjrn · Feb 11, 2006

Improve nurse/physician relationships. Try to improve staffing and have more CNA's. Squash bullying.

Zee_RN, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

I stay at my facility because:

(1) I respect my manager

(2) Our nurse: patient ratio is appropriate and deviations are rare

(3) My pay is commensurate for my experience level in my part of the country

(4) I work with a great team of nurses

What would tempt me to leave (but not necessarily induce me to leave):

(1) Better schedule

(2) Improved location

RNSUEIA · Feb 11, 2006

The reasons I love my job are

1. Really good pt to nurse ratio

2. We have enough cna's to make our job easier

3. We have hard working cna's

4. I make some darn good money!!:roll

StNeotser, ASN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

I get 20 days (4 weeks) paid vacation per year and it rises after that (only been in current job a year)

Gompers, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2006

I had read something the other night that nurses rank their relationship with their coworkers as their main reason staying in a position. Curious to what you all have to say.
So why do you stay????

That reason is exactly why I have either stayed or left nursing positions. When I first started on my NICU as a student, I just loved the staff, especially on night shift. It was like a huge family. People had worked together for 10-20 years and they were just wonderful. It was a great team environment - people always helping each other out and supporting each other. At that point, I was working in another NICU as a CNA and even though their unit was better on paper (higher pay, newer equiptment, sicker babies, more procedures, nicer looking unit, better reputation), I wasn't as crazy about their staff. So after graduation, I chose to work in the NICU where I was a student instead.

That was in 1998, and I'm still there!

Many of my coworkers are tempted to work elsewhere to be closer to their homes or get better hours or pay. But hardly any of them leave, because they know that the kind of staff we have is hard to come by. Some have left and came back within a month or two. We'll put up with anything, it seems, just so long as we're still together.

I think one of the best things we do is that we really support our new grads. They are welcomed onto the unit and we treat them very well. We don't skimp on their training, and we try to get them the best experience possible. We have 7 or 8 new grads (May 2005) on the unit right now. Not one of them is burnt out. They're all very happy and productive in their new jobs. And most of them had to take straight nights - but since they did orientation on days first, they have seen both shifts and most of them prefer the staff on nights. That's especially important if you're trying to retain nurses on an off-shift. At night, we really have to work together because we have less support than they have on days.

Sorry for being so long-winded. But this obviously is very close to my heart!

peaceful · Feb 12, 2006

I get 20 days (4 weeks) paid vacation per year and it rises after that (only been in current job a year)

Where do you work???

Gompers, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2006

Where do you work???

I don't think that's totally uncommon, is it?

Where I work, for full-timers, we start with...

15 days paid vacation (3 weeks)

2 paid personal days

2 paid education days

10 paid holidays (even if you don't work them, you still get these paid shifts and can request them 45 days before or after the actual holiday)

That's 29 days off! :)

1Tulip · Feb 12, 2006

I'm back at the bedside after 15 years away and I think I'm working with the best group of nurses in the state.

The work is hard but honorable.

The pay is adequate (I think when nurses make what attorneys do, we might be approaching the right pay scale.)

Every day is different.

Lots and lots of free CEU's available through work. Lots of them they pay us to attend!

THE DOWNSIDE.... Human Resources. I question whether the folks who work there are actually human, and they are just as likely to limit resources as they are to provide them.

gwenith, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2006

I get 6 weeks paid ohliday per year 7 days sick leave (cumulative) maternity pay, long service leave (10 days paid leave cumulative for every year after the first 10 years), patient nurse ratios calculated to acuity - mind you our take home pay is lower:p