I'm chair of out Retention Committee and spend a lot of time wondering how to keep nurses. Most say they move on for better money. DO you think this is true? Or do they leave because of bad managers?

You know, I just re-looked at your profile, and you and that fellow look like me and my hubby - on the water, have a dog, and have fun!

Talk about managers - we have a dissapearing one. Takes like a week or more off a month. She has the time, but all progress stops till she gets back. I think it's a hudge problem.

cuttie said:

This is for oldnurse, love your title. I repect you in cdnurse, for staying in nursing for such a long time, and still have the same respect for this field. The field needs nurses like you to show the new nurses, how it should really be done.

I graduated in March 05 and took a job at a hospital on a med/surg floor that had a 22 WEEK! ORIENTATION!....It was a program that is catching on to some hospitals....started in CA at a children's hospital calleda Versant RN Residency program....I think it helped retain many of the nurses at this hospital...we were spoon fed in the real world of nursing...it was a little slow but we got paid as RN's while still in orientation and also having classes and debriefing sessions every week....I think it was great and it would pay for many other hospitals to get something like this in their facilty....

Recently I read an article about how one school had a shortage or security officers, who are mostly men. The school immediately thought about how to solve the problem of that shortage: improve the pay and hours/schedules of the employees. How is it that noboby in nursing understands that if we had better pay and hours/ schedules, we could not only retain the nurses we have but attrack new ones. Is it because we're primarily women that nobody seems to think we need better pay and hours? It baffles me that nobody even considers these things. For better pay and hours, I would be happy to stay in nursing for decades to come. I've often met new nurses--of say one year out of school-- who come to me and ask me how in the world I've lasted so long in such a grueling profession. Nursing is grueling--because of the stress, fatigue and hours/ schedules, plus low pay. It's just grueling most of the time--or can be. Why do we tolerate this. Why don't we speak up and say what we need--better pay and better hours. I've worked 40 hours in 4 days and loved it. It requires a few 4 hours shifts--which could be covered by managers--a way for them to keep in touch with floor nursing. There are so many ways scheduling and hours could be improved. The people who require us old nurses to work 12 hour shifts get to go home after 7-8 hours. Excuse the vernacular but it sucks. We deserve better. And we could have better if we required it for ourselves.

Nursen05: I gave it some thought even though my firts love has always been psych

JacklynRN said:

I would have to answer oldnurses first post... I think it has 99.5% to do with the managers. I worked in a huge hospital in dallas and had NO support from the manager/supervisor and it just got the point where we had 6 patients in a step-down ICU that I couldn't take the stress any more and moved on. The managers never asked why everyone was leaving... guess they didn't think it was them - lol. Where I work now, I love my manager, supportive, friendly and her door is always open, that's what management in the health care setting should be like!

I don't understand that either oldnurse. I think if you put MOST managers/supervisors back out on the floor doing actual patient care it would make them a better leader! I think hospitals shouls require managers to get out there and work a 12 hour shift to see what their staff is going through, maybe then they would realize how hard it is, especially if they keep adding more duties to the nurses' plates!

I think that offering more money to staff is always an added bonus. But I think that most of the reason staff leave is due to dissatisfaction with their work environment. When you feel like you are not making a difference in any facility then you feel like it is time to move on. Also when you have management staff that only like to point out your flaws then what you do good you then feel underappreciated. The reasons I have left my various positions is due to the lack of concern from my directors regarding the nurse to patient ratio. When I feel like I am no longer practicing nursing and am only praying to the higher gods that my patients are alive when I leave work. Then that tells me that it is time to move on. I am still working on finding that facility where my concerns matter. But the biggest issue I think is the lack of care from the management staff.

cdnurse said:

I think that it is a combination of things including money. I do believe that the main reason is poor orientation and poor "welcome to our facility" by co-workers. Bad managers are out there. Lord knows I have had my share of poor nurse managers.

I have an orientee with me right now and he's a fairly new grad. I try to help him along and guide him without being oppressive. He had worked at another prison facility and just could not fit into the environment. He was the only RN supervising several LPNs and found it very difficult. He left before he finished probation. Some of the people I work with lack patience and criticize him too much without offering any help or suggestions to rectify his shortcomings.

I think that the mentor program is a very effective way of helping new grads or new employees. If mentors and their wards are matched correctly it can be a very fulfilling experience for both parties.