The cost of nursing staff turnover is immense for hospitals according to the 2019 National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report (NSI, 2019). The NSI reports that on average to replace a bedside nursing job it can cost up to $52,100. Last year, it is estimated that a hospital paid out up to $5.7 million just in recruiting, educating, and training new hires (NSI, 2019). This is a huge amount of money to keep a hospital staffed.
The top reasons nurses leave jobs vary - such as personal reasons, relocation, or career advancement. Other reasons that nurses leave jobs is because of salary, schedule, commute, management, retirement, and staff/patient ratios (NSI, 2019). Nurses have the luxury of being able to change jobs if they are not happy. There are so many choices for us, that if we aren’t happy, we can leave or transfer. If a facility does not value the nurses’ needs or care about retention, then they will have a large turnover rate.
There is one hospital system that has created a program that is like no other. The Allegheny Health Network has developed a RetuRN to Practice program that offers nurses shorter shifts, flexible shifts, refresher courses, and a support network. This information can be found at the following link:
https://www.ahn.org/education/ahn-return-to-practice-program
The Allegheny Health Network purposes to lure nurses that have left nursing to raise children, or are retired, to return to the bedside. Allegheny has created a system that fits the modern nurses’ lifestyle, and as a result, decreases the workload for the current staff. According to the article, “Bring Nurses Back to the Bedside”, by Jennifer Thew, “participants must offer managers availability in a minimum of three-hour blocks at any time on a day, evening, or night shift, or on a weekend or holiday”.
The agreement allows the nurse to self-schedule but requires a minimum availability. They don’t take assignments necessarily but relieve for breaks or when the nurse has to be off the unit for a period of time. They can do admissions and discharges as well, or patient teaching, the things that take a chunk of time.
The hospital provides refresher courses for the RetuRN nurses to take that will help them get their license re-activated. Shadowing is also available to help the returning nurse update clinical skills. They also offer a concierge program that helps the returning nurses navigate the process of getting hired and activating their licenses.
When the RetuRN nurse comes onto the unit, it is then that they get their assignment, which requires flexibility. It does create scheduling adjustments for the manager, who has to fit the RetuRN nurse with a three-hour block of time into the day’s schedule. What the program has come to find is that once these nurses are on the units, the units fight to keep them, finding them very valuable. Because this is a new program, they are constantly re-evaluating and getting feedback from all the key stakeholders.
The first wave of the program hired 22 nurses, all of whom still work there. The RetuRN nurse does not have to twelve-hour shifts or work the weekends, some of the deterrents that kept them away. They can self-schedule in order to fit the job to their life schedule, creating a balanced work to life ratio.
Being that the most recent percentage for staff turnover in hospitals is 19.1, this program recognizes that number and is forward thinking enough to try and decrease it. Bedside nursing turnover rate is 17.2% in 2018, compared to 16.8% turnover rate of 2017 (NSI, 2019). The numbers continue to increase each year, reflecting the satisfaction of the staff. In just five years, the average hospital has “turned over 87.8%” of their staff (NSI, 2019). This is a huge number that should get hospitals attention, not only for the money involved to recruit and train new employees but keeping staff once they hire them.
The RetuRN program will be one to watch. It already has given us a lot of information. In a couple years, the program will be larger and will have even more data to backup their claims. It will be interesting to see what it becomes and how many other hospitals will begin to use the program, or create something just as effective. The nurses who take advantage of the program have a lot of experience and skills to share that will benefit their fellow nurses and the patients. In return, the nurse gets to work a schedule that they choose and keep skills current.
References
2019 National Health Care Retention & Staffing Report. (2019). Nursing Solutions, Inc.
Retrieved from: www.nsinnursingsolutions.com
Thew, J. (2019). Bring Nurses Back to the Bedside. HealthLeaders Analysis. Retrieved from: https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/bring-nurses-back-bedside
