How to Strengthen Your Nurse Retention Strategy
Focus on continuous monitoring and improvement to retain clinicians
The COVID-19 pandemic tested the performance of every aspect of the health care system in the U.S. like no event in recent memory. Hospital and health system nursing retention efforts were no exception.
Like some aspects of the health care system whose performance was challenged by the unprecedented public health emergency and accompanying stress level it put clinicians under, nurse retention initiatives suffered. Some nurses retired early, others left the profession or quit without having another job. Others streamed out the door for higher-paying travel gigs or left hospitals and health systems for positions in other health care settings.
These trends and other data point to the increasing need for health care leaders to develop effective nurse retention strategies, even as some data show more nurses are returning to the field.
Taking a Continuous Improvement Approach to Nurse Retention
Many hospitals and health systems are repurposing lessons learned from the pandemic as building blocks of their reimagined nursing retention strategies. They’re also adopting a continuous improvement approach to make programs nimble and more responsive to the changing needs of their nursing workforce. The other benefits of this strategy are more effective and safer care for patients and better financial performance for their organizations.
Case Study: OSF Healthcare
Corporate University Streamlined Nurse Onboarding and Continuing Education
The educational objectives of the OSF corporate university range from supporting practice changes to optimizing policies and procedures. Programs include nursing orientation, technical orientation, critical care courses, workplace violence and global training programs.
Case Study: PAM Health
Explosive Growth Required A New Way of Getting All Nurses on the Same Page
The health system partnered with Relias to build an automated platform with a specific learner portal for clinicians, including nurses. Through the portal, nurses easily can access online onboarding, orientation, and training and education modules. Nurses also can search the platform for their specific state licensing or continuing education requirements and find training and education modules tailored to meet those specific requirements.
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How to Strengthen Your Nurse Retention Strategy
