Nurse retention and recruitment is becoming increasingly important as the nation faces a shortage in the profession.
To help with those efforts, hospitals and health systems continually strive to create a nurse-friendly culture that will draw workers to the organization and keep them there. However, despite their best efforts, organizations do not always reach this goal.
A recent survey by employment agency RNnetwork revealed nearly half of nurses (49.8 percent) have considered leaving the profession. Twenty-seven percent of respondents cited feeling overworked as the primary reason for wanting to leave nursing. That was followed by 16 percent of nurses not enjoying their job.
The survey, which examined nurse attitudes about the national shortage in the profession, workload and work-life balance, also showed 45 percent of nurses have been verbally harassed or bullied by other nurses.
"The national shortage does not appear to be shrinking and understanding what is driving people into or away from providing healthcare is an important thing to know," RNnetwork President Eric Darienzo says.
Here, Mr. Darienzo offers six ways healthcare organizations can create a nurse-friendly culture.
1. Lead by example. A nurse-friendly culture starts with administration, according to Mr. Darienzo. He believes administrators should be professional at all times, but also friendly. "Nursing and healthcare in general is a team approach, and if we're all in it together we can provide better patient care. We can provide a happier, healthier workplace for our peers, our subordinates and our supervisors. I think that is really where it all starts," he says.
2. Conduct a competitive analysis of regional hospital salaries. Doing so will provide average pay scales and help organizations determine competitive pay, according to Mr. Darienzo. He noted if an organization does not offer competitive pay then they potentially won't attract the best talent, as employees will seek other institutions that pay much more.
3. Provide adequate paid time off. The RNnetwork survey showed nurses overall are not necessarily working longer hours than they were two years ago, but they are feeling overworked. Therefore, providing adequate time off is important to foster a nurse-friendly culture, according to Mr. Darienzo. "It is a stressful job in the nurse space. People join it generally because it's a life calling. Being a life calling, you're emotionally invested in it, and if we're not giving people time to recharge their battery, you [organizations] could end up burning the candle at both ends and creating a less engaged employee," he says.
4. Have two-way communication for feedback. Mr. Darienzo believes organizations should have at least two avenues for feedback: One for nurses to receive feedback on performance, and the other avenue for nurses to provide hospitals and health systems with feedback on the hospital setting, policies and tools needed to perform their job. "This involves keeping nurses aware of what is going on at the facility. Knowledge is power, and the more you share the more empowered all employees feel. In addition ... feedback must be acted on. If you are asking for nurses to tell you ways to improve, you need to show how that feedback is being used to improve the facility," he says.
5. Reward and recognize nurses. Mr. Darienzo advises organizations to ensure nurses feel appreciated and are recognized in ways other than traditional compensation. He says this may be as simple as rewarding a nurse with a $10 gift card or an "employee of the month" designation. He added, "When you are as emotionally invested as healthcare providers are, those little things are important, making sure people know that their peers especially recognize the hard work and effort they're putting in."
6. Institute a teamwork mentality. Mr. Darienzo recommends organizations use their facility's culture as a way to promote teamwork. He says if the organization rewards and recognizes a team mentality, it encourages co-workers to help each other. The survey found that while most nurses aren't working more hours, they have more to do on their shifts. Having a helping hand in the form of a peer or manager goes a long way, Mr. Darienzo says, adding that teamwork can help spread the burden of extra work while also fostering engagement among co-workers. "Obviously the outlier is it ups the sense of respect for self and giving back so embracing your facility culture and exploiting the team approach or weaving the team approach into what you're already doing is something I think will absolutely increase engagement and create a happier workplace for the nurses," Mr. Darienzo says.