What are the successful means to retaining qualified RN's in the work setting ?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

pa state nurses association conducts precedent setting focus study

"what are the successful means to retaining qualified registered nurses in the work setting and the profession?"

the pa state nurses association set out to answer the question by conducting the first of its kind focus group study throughout the commonwealth investigating these two issues: job satisfaction and retention. interviews were conducted with front line direct care rns in the acute and home care settings. pa nurses underwrote the costs for this precedent setting study.

how happy and loyal are nurses in the commonwealth?

article summary: exclusive analysis, one-of a kind report results for statewide nursing focus group answers the question

harrisburg, pa - "national nurses week, which kicks off tomorrow for a week long celebration (may 6-12), offers us all an opportunity to recognize and honor nursing's positive impact on quality health care. yet without a sufficient number of well-educated and well-utilized registered nurses, we are faced with serious compromises in the delivery of safe, effective patient care throughout the health care system," succinctly states susan j. simmons, phd, rn, president, pa state nurses association.

typical headline grabbers in healthcare deal with the shortages in nursing. but the retention aspects and job satisfaction are also crucial issues that play a determining role in the shortage outcomes. "what are the successful means to retaining qualified registered nurses in the work setting and the profession?" is the question that pa state nurses association executive administrator michele p. campbell, msn, rnc asks. the association set out to answer the question by conducting the first of its kind focus group study throughout the commonwealth investigating these two issues: job satisfaction and retention. interviews were conducted with front line direct care rns in the acute and home care settings. pa nurses underwrote the costs for this precedent setting study.

"findings from this focus group study highlight some key retention issues for the profession and most importantly, help guide our efforts in addressing the escalating nursing shortage in pennsylvania," said simmons.

the focus group studies were conducted earlier this year during february and march in geographically central locations throughout the commonwealth. the location hosts were: hospital association of pennsylvania building in harrisburg; university of pittsburgh, university of pennsylvania; and misercordia university in dallas. the facilitator ensured each room setting was the same for each session to avoid any physical influence on responses or lack there of.

" focus groups are only as good as results you receive back from them. it's what the person does with the results, that's what is important," stated campbell. she noted the feedback mirrored national studies, but this feedback is key to the commonwealth as it was the first of its' kind to be conducted. "we have anecdotal and empirical data now available on retention. so it's up to the health care industry to incorporate these results into creating healthy workplace environments," summed up campbell.

the association administrator prepared an analysis of the study and highlighted key issues of concern: staffing and qualified support staff; relationships (with peer, manager, and physicians); compensation and benefits; continuing education/professional development opportunities and lack of equipment and supplies.

the report and analysis provide key insights to job satisfaction for nurses in the commonwealth. the analysis immediately follows this release. the focus group study also is attached.

"staffing is the single most significant issue for registered nurses in the workplace in pa," states campbell. staffing ratio's were flagged by the study noting that having enough rn staff to care for patients is critical, the ratios noted were 1:5 for medical surgical and 1:2 for critical care. "beyond these ratios, they were fearful of mistakes and not being able to render safe, effective care," she notes. qualified support staff was also noted by the study as a staffing concern. campbell challenges, "is it cost effective to pay nurses to do non-nursing functions? (duties such as emptying trash, doing secretarial work etc. were cited as several examples.)"

"the second most significant determinant of nurse satisfaction in the workplace was relationships," said campbell. she elaborated that the study broke down relationships in order to include: nurse to nurse, nurse to manager, to physician, to ancillary, administration and other departments.

pertaining to benefits and compensation, the study found that 25% were satisfied with compensation. though salaries are on the increase, most of those increases go to cover the rising costs of benefits. one bone of contention, that loyalty by long-time employees is not recognized with monetary rewards.

on the subject of continuing ed and development, "nurses want and need continuing education opportunities," states campbell. the study defined three levels of education as in-service, professional development and formal education. pennsylvania does not mandate continuing education for nursing license renewals at this time.

"a big annoyance to rns in pa is not having the supplies or equipment they need to do their job," campbell reiterates this frustration in her analysis. another inefficiency, the study notes, is working with malfunctioning equipment and having to find or chase down supplies.

the next step in this process is key to continuing to maintain healthy communication between all entities. the association is partnering with the center for health care career's healthcare worker retention group to initiate a second round of focus groups throughout the commonwealth. this next phase will encourage administrators, managers and direct staff to come to the table together and discuss barriers new verbiage.... and then work together to implement the concepts in the studies into their workplace environments.

currently there is legislation that has been introduced which addresses the first round of focus group findings.

ultimately this information from all focus group studies will be compiled to then develop recommendations for the industry, health care institutions and legislators in order to create the healthy environments and curb turnover, vacancy rates and maintain and build a vibrant, robust workforce.

pa state nurses recognizes the need to retain rn's and focuses on their association mission. to that end the association's mission is to advance the identity, integrity and continuity of the profession of nursing by: providing members with access to education improving their knowledge and skills; advocating and supporting the nursing profession with commonwealth legislators and regulators and improving member's quality of life by providing valued information and services. the association will continue to take an active role in the leadership council of the center for health care careers as they move forth to recommend strategies to enhance retention in health care facilities.

the bottom line is if you have a healthy workforce, this leads to better patient outcomes and greater patient satisfaction.

for copy of the analysis and focus group study, please see the hyperlinks below and download the report. adobe acrobat reader is required.

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click here to download entire focus group study.

click here to download analysis.

[Daye]

i will be presenting a "trends in nursing issues" with the topic being mentors and mentee this was an excellent thread, is there anything else you can add the would be beneficial for the graduating class may 2006

thanks

[llg, PhD, RN]

I am happy to see more work being done on the topic ... but ... Isn't that what the original work on Magnet Hospitals was supposed to answer? That movement all started with research on the "forces of magnetism" that helped hospitals retain nurses.

The fact that the whole "magnet movement" hasn't solved the problem demonstrates how complex the issues really are -- and that program is not the "be all" and "end all" that some people claim that it is.

llg