How to Retain New Nurses: 5 Best Practices for Facilities

With nursing shortages continuing to impact facilities nationwide, there’s an urgent need for more comprehensive staffing strategies. The national RN turnover rate stands at nearly 19%, implying a need to expand beyond recruitment efforts with an increased focus on retention. In particular, it’s important to understand how to retain new nurses who often feel compelled to leave within the first few years of starting their careers.

As the next generation of nurses enters the workforce, facilities should take measures to ensure they feel welcome and supported. We’ll provide an overview of why new nurses tend to leave the profession and provide some best practices for early-career retention.

New Nurse Turnover: Statistics and Overview

Early-career nurses are consistently leaving the profession at a higher rate than nurses of longer tenure. According to the NSI National Health Care Retention and RN Staffing Report, roughly 32% of new hires leave within their first year, accounting for a third of turnover among all RNs. Even in years two and three, turnover rates remain between 20% to 22%, compared to 11% to 13% among nurses with five or more years of experience.

Why Is Nurse Retention a Problem Among New Graduates?

The statistics are staggering, and it’s clear that early-career nurse retention rates have a lot of room for improvement. But in order for facilities to retain new hires, it’s important to understand the factors that drive graduate nurses away from the bedside. Most commonly, new nurses who leave their jobs report:

• Burnout from stressful workloads and understaffing.
• Inadequate supervision, guidance, or leadership.
• Feeling a lack of preparedness in skills or knowledge.

5 Best Practices to Retain New Nurses

Now that we’ve discussed factors that can lead to turnover among new nurses, you may be wondering, What are hospitals doing to retain nurses? Here are five best practices and nurse retention ideas that facilities can utilize to build a more stable workforce.

1. Implement a Transition to Practice Program

Year one as a new nurse can be the most daunting since it’s the first time a graduate is expected to practice independently. To ease the jump from academia to clinical practice, facilities can implement a transition to practice program — or nurse residency program — that offers 9-12 months of designated skill training and education for new hires.

Transition to practice programs have been shown to improve retention by providing nurses with additional support modalities as they get acclimated in their roles. These programs can be a win-win for both facilities and staff since they also help enhance care quality, reduce medical errors, and increase overall job satisfaction.

2. Establish a Mentorship or Buddy System

New nurses often rely on more experienced peers for emotional and educational support after orientation. In a brand new workplace, these peer-to-peer relationships can be difficult to forge alone. Thus, assigning new nurses with a designated mentor or buddy can facilitate a more collegial environment.

Mentorship programs can be a great asset to retention efforts if structured properly. Beyond simply paring nurses, it’s important to create a system that:

• Assigns mentors based on availability and interests.
• Fosters role-modeling behavior and trust building.
• Offers guidance on each unit’s specific culture.

3. Provide Opportunities for Career Growth

Nursing is an ever growing field, with many new graduates seeking out paths that will support their continuous development. You can enable growth within your own facility by providing resources that allow new nurses to work toward achievable goals. Consider the following development-based strategies to empower and retain new nurses:

• Create a clinical ladder program to allow for upward mobility at the bedside.
• Provide financial reimbursement or credits for nurses considering higher education.
• Implement free training workshops on the latest evidence-based practices.

4. Recognize Early-Career Achievements

Feelings of self-doubt are common when transitioning into a new role. Imposter syndrome can cause new nurses to feel as though they’re not doing enough, even when they’re putting in maximum effort to deliver high quality care.

It’s important for leaders to provide positive feedback and recognize early-career achievements to minimize feelings of inadequacy. Consider creating an annual rookie award to celebrate the exemplary work of new nurses, or handing out staff appreciation gifts or cards to recognize individual efforts.

5. Promote a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Burnout is a common cause of turnover among nurses across all stages of their careers. It’s important to promote a healthy work-life balance early on and ensure that new nurses are not getting overwhelmed while transitioning into their roles. Make workloads more manageable by implementing the following strategies:

• Maintain adequate staffing and assign reasonable patient loads.
• Create an interactive scheduling system that incorporates nurses’ preferences.
• Avoid calling nurses in on their days off by diversifying staffing coverage options.

Discover More Ways to Support Your Nurses

Now that you’ve honed in on strategies to retain new nurses, learn more ways to support your nursing staff across all levels. Don’t miss out on IntelyCare’s free workforce-building tips and guides delivered straight to your inbox.