Closing the Revolving Door: Enhanced Orientation and Mentoring of New Nurses to Decrease Turnover in Long Term Care

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Dorothy C. Nwizu (Creator)

Institution

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )

Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Advisor

Eric Gill

Abstract: Background: New nurse turnover is a global issue and in the United States the cost to onboard a bedside registered nurse averages $40,038.This money is lost if the nurse decides to leave the job. Losses attributed to nurse turnover can cost a hospital $3.6 million to $6.5 million annually, and the problem is getting worse. Many studies have found that mentorship is effective in new nurse retention. Objectives: To implement mentorship and preceptorship at a long-term care facility to see if it will improve the high turnover of new nurses there. Methods: The project is a quality improvement (QI) project, pre- and post-survey design, that followed the “Plan-Do-Study-Act” (PDSA) framework. The Intention to stay or leave survey measured the intention to stay or leave their position at the beginning and end of the mentorship program. The intervention was a 3-month designed preceptorship/mentorship program. Result: Positive results were noted, showing that close mentoring, support, and guidance helped retain new nurses. For the question on intent to stay for 12 months there were 2 agree or strongly agree pre-intervention and 4 agree or strongly agree post-intervention showing improvement in the primary concern, similar positive results were found in the other 6 questions as well. Conclusion: Structured preceptorship/mentorship for at least three months is beneficial to retaining new nurses. It is imperative for healthcare facilities to push the idea of providing the support and guidance needed for new nurses to feel valued, appreciated, and confident in their skills.

Closing the Revolving Door: Enhanced Orientation and Mentoring of New Nurses to Decrease Turnover in Long Term Care
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Created on 1/12/2024
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Additional Information

Publication

Other

Language: English

Date: 2023

Keywords

New nurses, High nurses’ turnover, Mentorship, Nurses, Baby boomers, Millennials, Nurses retention

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