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Newly licensed nurses: the key to better retention

Nurse Leader Weekly, October 12, 2007

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In an effort to better understand nurse turnover rates in hospitals, researchers conducted a three-year study on the work experience of newly licensed nurses. Presented in the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), the study revealed that better orientation programs and management may be the key to improved retention.

According to AJN, a randomly selected sample of 3,266 newly licensed nurses from 60 sites across the country participated in the study survey that focused on four major areas of their employment:

• Respondent characteristics
• Work-setting characteristics
• Respondents' attitudes toward work
• Job opportunities

Despite relatively high levels of job satisfaction, 37% of new nurses stated they would probably look for another job within the year. Furthermore, they described work-group cohesion to be high (4.1 on a 5-point scale) but support from supervisors to be somewhat lacking (3.6 on a 5-point scale). The results suggest that newly licensed nurses may not remain in the acute care settings they started out working in due to inadequate orientation and management.

To read more about the study, click here.

Sources: American Journal of Nursing, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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