A recent US study in the journal of Nursing Economics found that when nurses leave their job or take early retirement it impacts the hospital’s budget by as much as 5 per cent with costs going towards paying for the turnover.
The study also found that the main reasons nurses stay in their current position is based on their perceptions of working conditions, other job opportunities, their organization’s commitment to nurses, a feeling of autonomy and opportunities for advancement.
New RNs were more likely to stay in their job if they had variety, autonomy, supervisor and colleague support, justice, promotion opportunities and good nurse to doctor relationships. On the other hand, high workload and mandatory overtime made new nurses feel less committed to their organization.
“If nurses stay in their jobs, hospitals and the health care system will realize significant savings on costs associated with replacing nursing staff,” said Christine Kovner , PhD, RN, FAAN, professor at New York University’s College of Nursing and lead author of the study. “More importantly, patient outcomes are at stake because when the nursing staff is destabilized by frequent resignations and high turnover, the disruption and inconsistency of service can have a negative impact on patient care and safety.”
Sooo the bottom line is that nurses will stay in their jobs if they are happy. It’s also good overall for the organization, especially with the nursing shortage, to keep their nurses happy. And high turnover impacts hospitals’ bottom line and affects patient outcomes.
Hm. I wonder how long nurses have been telling their hospitals, goverments and organizations this exact message?
