Medical facility managers and HR professionals are well aware of the serious shortage in nursing personnel that’s currently afflicting the healthcare industry. We’ve even discussed tips and tricks for your organization to deal with the problem. But what if there were ways to help overcome the issue before it even became a serious problem? You’re in luck — improving retention at your facility is the key to dealing with the nursing shortage in a preemptive way.
Let’s take a closer look at how to improve your facility’s retention and ultimately lessen the impact of the nursing shortage:
Develop Nurses From the Very Beginning
Improving retention starts at the moment you hire and start training your newest nurse. And it boils down to the mindset: are you looking at your new hires as warm bodies to fill a role, or as investments in the future of your organization? Committing to developing your new hires into outstanding nurses from the very beginning is key to keeping those nurses around for the long term.
Support Continuing Education
Nurses work hard for your company, but they’re also investing in themselves when it comes to their careers. When your organization can offer them continuing education to grow their skills, it’s worth sticking around. That continuing education may take the form of official courses off-site, or it may take the form of mentorship or preceptorships at your facility. But in either case, the knowledge that a nurse can grow thanks to the efforts of your company is a powerful retention tool. And that means you won’t have to find, hire, and train more nurses in the future.
Provide Advancement Opportunities
Just as continuing education is important to retain nurses, so are opportunities to advance. If a nurse feels that he or she is stuck in one position for the entire time they’re employed with your company, what reason do they have to stay? If they feel that they can advance in the ranks, or explore other areas of the profession, while employed with you, they’ll take those opportunities.
Offer Competitive Benefits and Salary
At the end of the day, offering a competitive salary and benefits package is a fundamental way to retain the best nurses. When you treat your staff members right, you keep them around! And keeping your core staff around for as long as possible insulates you from the nursing shortage impacting healthcare facilities across the country.
Do you need help finding nurses that will commit to your facility and provide the best possible care to your patients? We’re here to help. Get in touch with BOS Medical to find your next dream candidate.
