Nurse retention

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I'm curious as to what keeps you at the hospital you are currently employed at.....are there specific incentives or bonuses? Does your employer offer perks for picking up hours when staffing is short? Do you get paid sick days and paid vacation and how is it awarded (PTO or set number of days)? Does management take an assignment to help with staffing? Also, what would make you leave your current employer to go elsewhere? Thanks for the input!!

Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.

Reasons I would stay at a facility:

1) decent pay

2) decent benefits

3) management with a brain

4) support for education and career advancement (I'm a nurse

My current job has good benefits (I learned they were going to stay matching retirement contributions), my coworkers are awesome, and our new DON is out to expand nurse education. My manager does not have a nursing background, so she can be squirrelly at times when it comes to patients, but overall she does as best she can with staffing, hiring and training.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care.

I have awesome coworkers, a fantastic manager, and great perks for working extra. In addition to time and half for overtime, if we pick up a shift when we are short staffed, we get $10/hr bonus. If we're really hurting, $20/hr.

Oh, plus free tuition at our school if we work full time and school part time.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I took a big pay-cut and went to work for a non-profit. The work is still very hard physically, and stressful. We are super busy- But....

We work as a team, respect each other and mgmt is supportive. We have the equipment/supplies we need. We are treated as adults.

Health ins bennies are very good, and are affordable.

Plenty of PTO and sick leave on top of that.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Excellent chance to review my "green" world.

Hmmmmm...what keeps ME at MY job:

I get all the stuff you mentioned plus.

I am well paid for my experience >30 years = >$50/hr. Extra pay for certification, evening/night diff, weekend diff. $4.00 standby pay, time and a half call back pay with 3 hr minimum. In union-land and we all have similar contracts.

I like my hours. Two 12 hr shifts every Thursday and Friday. One night of call during the week, one 24 hour call once a month on the weekend. Extra if I want it.

I like my co-workers. They are good at their jobs, help when needed don't interfere when not needed. Easy to trade days with. Nice people in general. One of my co-workers, a charge nurse, has been here 45 years!

I totally admire/ respect/ like my manager. She is ex-military, excellent communicator, fair and plays by the rules. Best manager I have ever worked for and that makes all the difference.

I like my hospital. It's a medium size urban former community hospital that is now affiliated with the big State University. Lots of close ties to the clientele and easy access to educational opportunities.

Close to my home. 20 min by auto, 40 min by bicycle on an interurban trail.

And who wouldn't enjoy their five days off here. This part of the country is absolutely stunning. The Great Pacific Northwest.... 'nuff said.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

It's the devil I know.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I want to be Mavrick, That grass sounds pretty green.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

Scheduling (especially holiday scheduling) and PTO are big ones for me, and my current employer fails at them in a really big way. I plan on giving them at least a year to be polite and then to look elsewhere very seriously. The pay is good and my coworkers are great, but not being able to take my PTO, and then having PTO taken from me if I can't find a way to schedule it, just makes me mad.

I like jobs with good differentials. I expect time and a half for holidays and at least a few dollars an hour for weekends. My current job offers a $1.25/hr diff for both, and then they wonder why they can't staff the weekends and had to come up with a holiday team rotation to mandate the holidays. Well, gee whiz, I don't know - maybe it's the nurses feeling like $15/shift is not worth giving up a weekend or holiday for?

My job offers lots of incentives for coming in when they are short, better than anywhere else I have ever worked, but I have never taken advantage of it once. I worked 60 hours/week sometimes at my last one, for just overtime and no incentives, so incentives are not what brings me in the door. I have to like my job to pick up extra, regardless of what incentives they offer me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Even though I really enjoy my job, my management and my salary, I sometimes get itchy for a change. The grass may be greener, etc. Then I sit back and take stock: in the 10+ years that I have been with this facility, at least 10 folks have left for said greener pastures. All but one have returned, hat in hand, asking for their jobs back.

I ain't stoopid - it must be a cold, cruel world out there and the only green grass must be growing under my feet.

To answer the question: decent compensation & PTO (monitored regionally to stay competitive), 401k matching funds, open-door management style with easy access to the top managers.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My manager has hired some great nurses. My coworkers have been my strong, competent and helpful brothers/sisters-in-arms.

I eat lunch every time.

As a per diem, I am allowed to pick my schedule just like everyone else so I have a schedule well in advance.

The culture of the department has doctors and nurses working pretty well together. A big frustration in my previous job was being unable to find the doctor when I needed on urgently, here there is one on the unit at all times.

We have enough working equipment and supplies to do the job.

I'm not sure what would lure me away. Money doesn't matter that much since I am married to a high earning man and freedom of scheduling trumps money right now.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well, since I leave positions so often, I will tell you why they can't keep me.

1) My husband gets transferred/promoted a lot and I go where he goes.

2) No job has paid enough or given me enough respect for me to veto a move.

3) Only one job has been good enough for me to even ask my husband to delay our move. That job paid well, had lots of opportunities, had fantastic staff, had fantastic management, and put up with my crap. The shifts were flexible, I could work as much as I wanted, and I had weekly and monthly bonuses just for showing up. I also didn't get penalized for canceling shifts. It was fantastic.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

One thing keeps me where I am: I like the other nurses. I work all floors, so I know most of them. It made me feel good when I walked onto a floor yesterday, and the charge nurse looked up at me, broke a huge smile, and said, "It makes me happy when you work with us." My personality fits with the nursing culture.

I know now there is something good going on here for me, and I don't take it for granted.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Mental Health.

As a new nurse what is keeping in my place is the experiences I am gaining. My current employer heavily supports my cpd, my roster is really nice with every second weekend off, I get on with the people really well, love my cnm 2 and I enjoy the work. I am working in the private sector and compared to my friend who is in the public sector I am getting managerial experiences, building really good relationships in my specialist area, and taking on a key role within my ward. I don't plan to stay here forever but I wanted to live here for sometime. There are downfalls too.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment