A dual-role nurse pilot project launched in 2019 at Spectrum Health’s Cardiothoracic Cardiac Care Unit in Grand Rapids, Mich., with an aim toward reducing turnover and advancing nurse training. The initiative, which spanned multiple years, gleaned insights for hospital leaders into practices to combat nurse burnout and boost retention.
Dual-role nursing allows an individual to spend part of their working hours between two different clinical specialty settings, which the project hypothesized would improve engagement and reduce burnout, according to the press release.
The program did just that and revealed seven key benefits:
- Increased reported job satisfaction
- Reduced turnover rates among nurses
- Increased nurse confidence, which in turn helped enhance care quality
- Attracted a younger generation of nurses to new and open roles
- Supported the needs of the healthcare system
- Improved staffing flexibility
- Promoted collaboration and relationship growth