Nurse turnover is a critical issue that has attracted the attention of all stakeholders in the healthcare industry and even policymakers within the government. Turnover is an important determinant of organizational output, especially in the healthcare sector that is transforming and also dealing with unique situations like pandemics and infectious diseases (Heidari, Seifi & Gharebagh 2017). While different initiatives, programs, and strategies have been proposed by different players, right from nursing and other medical professionals, as well as scholars and policymakers in government, nurse leaders and managers, remain critical at having these solutions work.
Leaders and managers must establish retention initiatives as practical approaches to dealing with the problem. Having retention strategies means that the leaders and managers should apply critical leadership as well as management skills, competencies, and abilities to ensure that the issues raised by nurses or leading to attrition are addressed collaboratively. According to Heidari et al. (2017), nurse leaders and managers need to understand the reasons for nurses leaving their employment and mitigate the factors that lead to the intentions of these professionals leaving the workplace. For instance, studies demonstrate that most nurses leave because of job dissatisfaction, especially when a nurse requires career progression and empowerment. The implication is that leaders should advocate for nurses to get better training and career progression opportunities in the organization. Nurse leaders need to ensure that bedside nurses have a manageable workload and get chances to increase their competence and skills for better service delivery.
Additional Aspects by Leaders and Managers to enhance Professionalism
According to Wood (2017), nurse leaders and managers should develop effective approaches in their efforts to address the problem by getting an excellent fit to mitigate the turnover, right from the hiring process. Leaders should engage the nurses to avoid burnout. At the same time, the management should institute an effective hiring process which allows an organization to attain the best fit based on an individual’s attitude and ability to stay. Managers can establish retention policies when hiring nurses. For instance, a strategy that requires a nurse to spend at least a certain amount of time at the organization can mitigate turnover (Ellrich & Nelson, 2020). Managers should develop retention strategies like the creation of growth opportunities for nursing staff, recognizing nurses for meaningful performance and achievement, and improving the work environment.
Effective Leadership Style and Advocacy
On their part, nurse leaders should develop and nurture the collaborative working relationships with the nurses and ensure that the professional code of conduct and ethical principles guide how they deal with bedside RNs in their units. According to Hughes (2017), specific leadership strategies can promote the retention of nurses. These include trust, loyalty, having integrity through the use of both aesthetic and authentic leadership models. As nurse advocates, nurse leaders should ensure that their staff work in a secure and safe environment for effective service delivery to patients. The leaders should also support the nurses and use team-building strategies to attain a coherent and high performing team.
The implication is that nurse leaders should use a transformational leadership approach to inspire their nurses, encourage them to attain career goals, and ensure that they deliver the best quality outcomes to retain them (Maxwell, 2017). Studies show that a positive relationship exists between transformational leaders and nurse performance and retention in healthcare organizations. From a Christian and biblical perspective, leaders and managers have to protect their employees and ensure that they are treated well to offer better services to patients (Maxwell, 2017). Transformational leadership ensures that nurses develop professionally, and organizations use effective strategies to solve problems facing them.
Conclusion
Nurse leaders, as well as managers, need to develop responsive and practical models to deal with the issue of nurse turnover to ensure that they mitigate costs and adverse effects associated with the problem. The use of a transformational leadership approach and application of ethical as well as professional code of conduct principles should the starting points.
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