Where have all the Nurses gone?

Nursing Turnover at UKIt has come to the attention of this blogger that UK’s nursing turnover is hovering around 30%. This number may sound astonishing to many, and it is! The majority of the research investigated for this post reported the nationally average turnover rate is around 8%. With more nursing shortages expected in the future, what will UK do to retain the nurses it has and recruit new graduates? It certainly is not trying to keep them happy. Reports have already surfaced about cuts to the Baylor Plan and have offered no suggestions on retention of any employees, let alone qualified nurses! According to a meta-analysis “Turnover costs, in general, have been estimated to range between 0.75 to 2.0 times the salary of the departing individual (McConnell, 1999), while nurse turnover costs have been estimated at 1.3 times the salary of a departing nurse (Jones). However, these estimates may vary depending upon the human capital, e.g., the education, experience, and tenure of the nurse who leaves; the era during which the nurse departs, e.g., at the beginning versus the height of a nurse shortage; and other organizational and environmental factors, such as the local labor market and whether the organization is in a rural or urban location (Jones & Gates, 2007).” Let’s do some math. Of the 6,000+ employees boasted by UK Healthcare’s website, let’s estimate 1,500 of those are nurses with an average salary of $40,000. A turnover rate of 30% would mean that 450 nurses left their position. And even the smallest estimate of .75 times a nurse’s salary would put UK in the hole around $13 million!

So a few questions:

Is turnover where UK employee raises went?

What is UK doing (or not doing) to keep its nurses?

What should UK do to retain all its staff?