Recruiting and retaining nurses

[NatalieN]

In your opinion, what are the best ways an employer can recruit and

retain nurses (Ex, pay, flexible scheduling, recognition etc)?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Pretty much what Blue said....if the people that work there don't have enough sway to clue administration in to what would be needed to retain quality staff, it hardly seems realistic to think that this administration would perk up and pay keen attention to what WE have to say...right?

It also seems that whatever is keeping your facility from retaining nurses is well-known to your administration; management does tend to live in Ivory Towers, it's true, BUT they aren't as clueless as you probably think.

They KNOW....they just don't CARE.

Nurses can be replaced without much difficulty, so what is the real incentive on the part of your management to try to retain the ones already there? Keeping costs down? Well.....that used to be true, until the overabundance of nurses has led to being able to replace us at a lower annual cost than it would be to retain someone who has been earning higher pay and potentially costing more in benefits (PTO, for example).

[SmilingBluEyes]

Respect for my knowledge and experience would mean more than even a pay raise. SO LITTLE respect for us.

[amoLucia]

The use of 'we all' is general all encompassing to include even some of those other silent members who READ your post, wondered as I did, but did not type out a response.

But if you had initially given the information that you did in your subsequent post #8, maybe my skepticism may not have been piqued. I would probably have been thinking more along the lines of Blue Moon & RNsRWe.

And yes, I would prob have been a little bit more sympathetic for your dilemma. I too, have worked at places that had terrific staff but NOT so terrif admin/manglement.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

The easiest way for an employer to recruit and retain employees is to be located in an area where the market is saturated, when there are more nurses than jobs, employers do not need to worry about incentives. If there is no true shortage of nurses in your area, you do not have any leverage to bargain for changes.

[Momma1RN, MSN, RN, APRN]

I've never heard of any mental health facility (in my area of the country anyways) who had staff work 12 hour shifts. I have a friend who works at an inpatient children's psych facility and she is almost always there until 5-6pm so it seems like 12 hours would be more convenient for staff. Has your administration provided any insight into why they're unwilling to accommodate staff requests? Could it be that your unit is in a minority in wanting 12-hour shifts?

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

Optimal nurse-patients ratios are at the core of nurse satisfaction. It's not pay, not for me anyway. I am a traveler and get different rates of pay depending where I go. At this point in my career, I won't accept higher pay to deal with higher ratios. I would rather have ratios standardized nationwide, then pay would be the next issue to address once that is resolved..

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