Graduate Nurse Retention

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Introduction
In the healthcare industry, recruitment and retention is a major issue because this field is full of professionals who work on the frontline of service, who are at times overwhelmed and suffer from secondary trauma, burnout, and general job stress. As these individuals provide support, a path to resiliency and positive outcomes to those customers that they serve, they are the backbone of every healthcare organization. Research has found that high turnover in this field is a major concern because of the negative outcomes on the families being served and the financial cost that the organization must endure. Central to recruitment and retention concerns has been new graduate nurses’ high turnover rates during the first two years. …show more content…

The turnover rates in the first years of employment are higher than the rates among tenured nurses3, and the percentage of new-graduate nurses quitting their job within 1 year after being hired ranges from 30 to 50%4. A study reveals that an estimated 17.5 percent of newly-licensed nurses leave their first nursing job within the first year, and 33.5% leave within two years5. New graduate nurses' turnover intention is a relevant issue because at a cost of $82,000 or more per nurse, this attrition is costly in economic and professional terms- and can negatively impact patient-care …show more content…

Although it is widely known that the first 2 years of employment are the most unstable period for new-graduate nurses2, there is a lack of research about this. Numerous factors have been identified as essential to retaining a satisfied and engaged nursing staff.
Structural empowerment, defined as the degree of access to workplace conditions that provide information, support, resources and opportunities to learn and grow, has been shown to be positively related to nurses feelings of autonomy, support for professional practice, job satisfaction, organizational commitment11 and turnover intentions12. It has also been linked to health outcomes, such as burnout and mental and physical health. Empowerment is also related to the six areas of work-life described as factors that influence employees’ responses to their workplace: manageable workloads, control over work, rewards for contribution, fair treatment, a sense of community and similarity between personal and organizational values13. They have consistently linked these factors to employee burnout, a finding supported in the nursing literature14. In studies of new graduates, structural empowerment and the six areas of work-life have been shown to be important predictors of burnout and work

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