National Conference Explores Nursing Retention Solutions

More than 170 leaders from state nursing workforce centers throughout the nation attended a conference on June 11 and 12 in Denver to discuss nursing workforce retention issues and the potential critical shortage of a skilled nursing workforce by the year 2010.

In a keynote address to attendees, Benjamin Isgur, assistant director of PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health and Research Institute, shared data that underscored the importance of focusing on nursing retention issues over the next several years. His findings indicated that:

• 320,000 apply for nursing school but only 145,000 are accepted
• 78,000 graduate from nursing school, with 74,000 passing the exam
• 30,000 stay but after two years, 50 percent have left their first job
• Roughly 23 percent of those who wanted to be a nurse are working as a nurse
• For the first time in decades, the total number of nurses is projected to decrease after 2010
• Hospitals with low nurse turnover save $3.6 million annually.
• Every one percent increase in nurse turnover costs a hospital about $300,000 per year.

To encourage the needed changes with policymakers, educators, business leaders and others, various states have state workforce centers. Colorado’s is the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, which hosted the conference. Mary Lou Brunell, executive director of the Florida Center for Nursing and conference chair, presented a "State of the State Workforce Centers" report at the conference.

Additional presentations included Innovation and Promising Practices in Nursing Retention, The New Meaning of Retention, Policy Implications of Academic Nurse Residency Model, Creating a Technology-Enhanced Work Environment, Evidence-Based Retention Strategies for High Risk Populations, and Retention Practices from Across the Country.

According to Mary Lou Brunell, "Conference attendees spoke highly about the diversity and practicality of the information presented. I spoke to many, many nurses and educational leaders who were eager to apply the information to work being done in their states to better educate and support nurses throughout the career continuum."

Companies whose sponsorship helped make the conference possible included: Robert Wood Johnson; The Colorado Trust; Kaiser Permanente; Gannett Healthcare Group; Johnson & Johnson; Laerdal; Versant; American Association of Colleges of Nursing ; Caring for Colorado Foundation; Catalyst Systems, LLC; Gaumard Scientific; Medical Education Technologies, Inc.

Sponsors at the organization level included: ADVANCE; Bernard Hodes Group; Craig Hospital; Hawaii Center for Nursing; Steadman Hawkins Clinic; Washington Center for Nursing; and West Virginia Center for Nursing.

To learn more about the forum of state nursing workforce centers and the Taking the Long View conference, visit the Web site at: www.nursingworkforcecenters.org.

Source: Florida Center for Nursing