Recruiting and retaining registered nurses in rural community hospitals. Some administrative assessments

The costs and impacts associated with the recruitment and retention of nurses are substantial. In rural areas, these efforts are hampered by the recurring maldistribution of available nurses away from such environments. Based on a survey of 195 directors of nursing (DONs) practicing in rural community hospitals, the authors compare administrative assessments of recruitment and retention efforts of DONs practicing in various-sized rural facilities. Current full-time equivalent registered nurse staff vacancy rates are also reported in relation to these differing assessments.     

Centralized orientation: retaining graduate nurses.

Graduate nurses (GNs) are an integral part of the medical-surgical nursing team. Focused GN orientation is one aspect of a program to promote retention, can be the initial link to support systems in the hospital, provides confidence in newly acquired skills, and builds a foundation for the role transition to becoming a registered nurse. A large metropolitan hospital provides a 1-week GN orientation program to provide new graduates with the skills necessary to ensure success entering the nursing field.     

Recruiting nurses: the problem is the process

With competition increasing for scarce personnel resources, recruitment and retention processes must be efficient and effective. The author reports the results of an extensive study of recruitment processes and systems in acute care hospitals throughout the United States and the major recruitment factors that lead to job choice decisions by staff nurses.     

Recruiting knowledge, not just nurses.

The importance of the definition of nurse as a "knowledge worker" and the utility of knowledge as a recruitment policy for building a strong nursing workforce are discussed. The method used is the implementation of a statewide merit-based scholarship program targeting academically excellent students. At the University of Vermont, which educates roughly half of the state's nursing students, applications to the College of Nursing are up 83 percent, and entering class size is up 92 percent. Most significantly, Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores have improved 4 percent, reversing an 8-year trend. In conclusion, merit scholarships are an effective means of building intellectual capacity and attracting academically stronger candidates to the nursing profession.     

Recruiting nurses for the new millennium

The challenge of finding the very best candidates to become the nurses of the future is not new. Even in the mid-1800s, Florence Nightingale struggled to seek out the best prospects for training at her new institutions. Today, however, with nursing colleges and universities in competition for the top candidates to fill their entrance quotas, recruitment has become not just a challenge but an art.     

Recruiting and retaining research participants for a clinical intervention study.

This article describes strategies investigators can use to recruit and retain research participants in a clinical intervention study. Although specific issues and examples focus on family caregivers of stroke survivors, many strategies discussed here are applicable to other populations.     

Recruiting future nurses: a collaborative project

Society as a whole must be involved in making certain there are enough professionals in the future to provide care for the health needs of both rural and urban communities. As a result of this need, Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) across North Carolina have expanded their health care career awareness efforts. One AHEC focused on the concept of awareness of nursing careers by the community, for the community. This project is ongoing and, through collaborative efforts, keeps nursing career awareness in the forefront.