Creating a retention plan to reduce nursing staff turnover and improve patient care
The adverse effects of the nursing staff shortage are felt not only by the healthcare professional and patients but by the management as well. With high nurse turnover and fewer nurses who are willing to commit full-time, medical institutions are pressured to come up with nursing retention strategies to keep their existing manpower and avoid understaffing.
The challenges of nurse retention and the benefits of a strategic retention plan
Your nursing team is part of the backbone of your medical facility. Their role includes being in direct contact with patients from when they enter your facility, during the implementation of treatment plans, and even until when patients get better. As such, it’s crucial to have stable nursing manpower.
However, various factors affect the decisions of nurses which may result in nurse turnover. Job dissatisfaction is among the main challenges of nurse retention. Nurses will not stay when they are not happy in their workplace. Stress, fatigue, and the pursuit of career growth are also significant factors that all pose a challenge tp every institution’s nurse retention.
To address these issues, medical institutions must have a strategic nurse retention plan. Planning brings many benefits to the organization.
A structured course of action
Initiatives for nurse retention should be crafted in a way that they are all cohesive with one another. One benefit of a strategic retention plan is that there is a detailed course of action with a clear end goal in mind. Things are not all over the place which makes it easier for assessment and implementation.
Direct solutions to issues
For an organization to successfully address an issue such as nurse turnover, there must be straightforward solutions. A strategic nursing retention plan can be specific enough to directly solve certain issues that lead to nursing staff shortages.
Nursing retention strategies to combat nurse turnover
You now have a clearer picture of the importance of having a retention plan to address nursing staff shortages. The next question is: What kind of nursing retention strategies should you implement? Here are a few tried-and-tested ideas:
Create a nurse residency program
Many nurses, especially those who are new to the profession, are turned off by the practice. Some may find themselves stuck with minimal professional growth. A clever and practical way to address this is by coming up with a nurse residency program.
Much similar to that of physicians, a nurse residency program provides a clear path of learning and growth from start to finish. This will help new nurses during their onboarding and manage their expectations while keeping them excited for their careers in the years to come.
Encourage further education
As mentioned previously, having no career growth might negatively affect your institution’s nursing retention. If you support your nurses who wish to take further studies, they might realize that they want to stay in the organization longer.
Further education benefits both the nursing workforce and the institution. Training, post-graduate studies, and refreshers expand knowledge among your nursing team. This results in better clinical skills and up-to-date awareness of trends in the nursing industry which results in improved patient care.
Make attractive compensation and benefit packages
Nursing is a passion and a thankless job, yet it does not hurt to provide your nursing team with good salary packages. After all, at the end of the day, being a nurse is still a source of livelihood.
Ensure that your salary packages are competitive enough and will give justice to what your nurses have been doing. Show appreciation in the simplest but most effective way possible by increasing their salaries.
Provide benefits that they will enjoy together with their loved ones. Paid time off, flexible work schedules, and incentives are among the nursing retention strategies you should explore.
Foster a culture of respect and collaboration
Anyone will feel appreciated if you give him a seat at the table. Make your workplace a safe space where respect and collaboration thrive. Make feedback boxes where nurses can anonymously drop comments and suggestions. This way, you get firsthand information on what they want.
Involve your nursing team in policy and decision-making. Assign a leader per nursing team and allow them to gather so they can give feedback or raise concerns about a policy or anything in general.
Maintain an open line of communication
Communication is an important element in nursing retention strategies. For you to have a good understanding of what’s going on with your nursing team, you should keep lines open. Make sure they are aware that they can talk to you anytime.
Should concerns arise, talk to your nurses directly and keep them in the loop for issues. Listen to what they have to say so you can understand them better. Active listening will allow you to come up with better plans of action.
Making a strategic nursing retention plan is key to a strong workforce
If you want the nursing workforce in your institution to remain strong, you must build a strategic nursing retention plan. Understand what causes nurse turnover and try to address them with nursing retention strategies. Allow open communication between both the management and the workforce and encourage involvement.