Literature Review: Nurse Retention

With the ongoing changes in the healthcare field, nursing workforce retention presents itself as one of the greatest challenges facing healthcare systems today. According to the American Nursing Association, nursing turnover is a multi-faceted issue which impacts the financial stability of the facility, the quality of patient care and has a direct affect on the other members of the nursing staff (ANA, 2014). The cost to replace a nurse in a healthcare facility ranges between $62,100 to $67,100 (ANA, 2014). The rising problem with nursing retention will intensify the nursing shortage, which has been projected to affect the entire nation, not just isolated areas of the country, gradually increasing in its scope from 2009 to 2030 (Rosseter, 2014). The nursing shortage is directly related to the increased rate of the population growth, the decrease in enrollment of new nursing students, the aging population as well as the problem of nursing retention (STTI, 2014). In order to determine interventions that are necessary to retain the nursing workforce, evidence-based research must be reviewed to understand strategies needed to alleviate this problem. The literature reviewed shows a direct relationship between nursing retention and the satisfaction of the nurses with the environment in which they work. The healthcare environment, as seen from a nurse’s perspective, is affected by many factors such as the autonomy of the nurses, the support from leadership, the opportunities for professional development and the quality of the relationships between the nurses and other disciplines. These factors should be analyzed and then interventions should be undertaken to improve these aspects of the nursing environment and minimize items that le...

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