If organisations want to retain qualified nurses they need to tackle the different work factors that are important to the three key age groups and build on the strong attachment that many nurses feel to the profession. Those are the key messages to emerge from a large-scale survey of nurses published in the January issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Australian researchers surveyed 900 nurses from seven private hospitals in four states, breaking them down into Baby Boomers (44 to 46 years), Generation X (29 to 43 years) and Generation Y (under 29).
The sample was representative of the nursing population in Australia. Most were women (96%), over 42 years of age, working as Registered Nurses (RNs) and doing between five and eight shifts a week.
"Our findings, which we believe may be applicable to many international hospitals, show that there is no single driver behind nurse retention" says co-author Dr Kate Shacklock, Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations and Human Resources at Griffith University, Queensland.
"Older nurses were more likely to be influenced by a larger number of factors than younger nurses and flexible working arrangements, which have been suggested by some as a possible solution to retention issues, were not deemed significant by any of the three age groups.
"However, one clear message emerged, that nurses feel a strong attachment to healing and to working in the nursing profession. This was the only variable identified by all three age groups. We believe that strategies that build on this and the other variables identified in our study may improve hospital retention rates."
Developed countries around the globe are currently suffering nurse shortages. For example, latest figures show that of the qualified nurses currently working in Australia, only 73% were employed in nursing. The Canadian Nurses Association has predicted a shortfall of 60,000 RNs by 2022 and the American N
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| Contact: Annette Whibley annette.wizard@gmail.com Wiley-Blackwell Source:Eurekalert |