RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Recruitment and retention strategies in nursing

Recruitment and retention strategies in nursing

Introduction

Recruitment and retention issues within nursing academia that have been studied include job satisfaction and the work environment, orientation of new hires, mentoring, faculty practice and workload, and role preparation, role strain and stress. Strategies for building the workforce range from maximizing the use of senior faculty to more long term strategies involving the recruitment of students into careers in academia. Too few doctoral prepared candidates, compensation disparities and insufficient diversity have been cited as prime factors in the faculty shortage. Ensuring the future of the nurse faculty workforce through recruitment and retention will require sustainable, evidence based solutions that are developed, implemented and evaluated in a coordinated effort that will be discussed in the above paragraphs.

Main Body

Researchers surveyed 735 NLNAC-accredited ADN programs about the faculty shortage. The 446 schools that returned completed surveys said, their programs were experiencing increases in faculty numbers, and, new faculty positions that was 66% reported no faculty vacancies. They did not find a shortage of faculty but listed several successful strategies for faculty recruitment, and, retention, including personal contact, and, newspaper advertisements. Improved benefits, competitive salaries, institutional respect for faculty input, and, participation, and pleasant work environment improved retention (Aiken, 2003).

Researchers observed that job satisfaction, and, nurses' perceptions of the attractiveness of nursing education as a career are major factors to be considered in developing recruitment, and, retention strategies to attract and retain nurse educators. They found that among their respondents, better salaries, closer proximity to work, and, institutional support of clinical practice for educators were considered incentives. They identified four themes that encompassed beliefs about increasing the nurse educator workforce: “Ground educators in clinical practice; provide scholarships for nurses pursuing advanced degrees; increase access to master's and doctoral education for nurses; and improve faculty salaries and benefits”. They also observed those nurse faculties, though largely satisfied with their jobs (75.9%), were on average 4.5 years older and 3 years closer to retirement than their counterparts in other roles. They recommended strategies to retain younger, less experienced faculty, and, to use of older faculty (Choudry, 1992).

Researchers concluded that the levels of frustration and stress experienced by novice faculty are factors in their retention. They emphasized the importance of professional guidance and support through orientation and beyond. They recommended research into the quality of educator preparation and its effect on retention of contemporary educators. Another group of researchers' surveyed 347 full-time faculty members in Minnesota's nursing programs about their perceptions of individual, institutional and leadership characteristics. A majority of the respondents (63%) expressed satisfaction with their roles, but 54% were dissatisfied with workloads and most believed compensation was not commensurate with the work being done. Though 91% would choose a nursing academic career again, 66% were dubious about the future of the nursing profession itself. They inquired about dozens of aspects of nurse educators' work, including research, other scholarly work, teaching, patient care and administration, as well as different ...