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View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
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View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
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View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
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View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
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View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreThis blog post (the first in a three-part series) was written by Randy Carden, Ed.D., Senior Research Consultant, HealthStream and was included in a recent issue of PX Alert, HealthStream's quarterly e-newsletter devoted to the wide range of challenges, situations, and issues that have an impact on the patient experience. Subscribe to PX Alert.
A Nursing Shortage May Be in the Future
Although there is a lack of agreement about the severity of the nursing shortage that is being predicted, most feel that there will be a substantial shortage developing over the next several years. The shortage has been helped somewhat with nurses returning to the work world to make ends meet during the recent economic recession. As things improve economically some of those nurses may have the freedom to work less or not at all. This, coupled by the effect of the Affordable Care Act and the glut of aging baby boomers as potential patients, may exacerbate the problem.
Retention of Nurses in Acute Care Hospitals is Critical
When nurses leave employment it is a large issue. Hayes, Bonner & Pryor (2010) identified several problems that result from high nurse turnover. These include:
Job Satisfaction and Nurse Retention
A statement in a 2012 survey sums up the relationship between nurses’ job satisfaction and retention. “Job satisfaction is important to consider when evaluating nurse retention. The 2012 survey responses reinforce the impression that though the economic downturn may have eased the nurse staffing crunch in some facilities, underlying issues causing job dissatisfaction among nurses still remain” (AMN, 2012, p. 17).
What Factors Relate to Nurse Job Satisfaction?
Hayes, Bonner & Pryor (2010) conducted a literature review of 17 articles measuring the perceptions of over 14,000 nurses across multiple countries in North America, Europe and Asia. They found that nurse job satisfaction factors fell into the three categories of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extrapersonal.
1. Intrapersonal
The first category is the “Intrapersonal,” which is what the nurse brings to the job. These factors focus on the age of the nurse and his or her method of coping. It was found that “Baby Boomers” (born between 1946 and 1964) were more satisfied than “Gen X” nurses (born between 1965 and 1979). They found that nurses who were older and that had worked longer in a specific area were generally more satisfied with their jobs. It was also found that coping patterns were associated with job satisfaction. For example, individual coping strategies that involved a positive outlook and the ability to reframe situations positively were associated with better adjustment and higher levels of satisfaction.
2. Interpersonal
A second category is the “Interpersonal,” which focuses on relationships and interactions. This cluster of factors is between people—nurses and others. Positive interpersonal factors seem to relate to autonomy, caregiving, professional relationships, and leadership. Autonomy is a critical factor in the interpersonal cluster—several studies found that autonomy was the most important factor in nurse job satisfaction. Autonomy is related to appropriate independence—the ability to use the individual’s judgment in caretaking decision-making. The role of the supervisor is another interpersonal factor that relates to nurse job satisfaction. The role of nurse manager is extremely important in establishing excellent working relationships characterized by trust and support and encouraging an appropriate degree of autonomy when caring for others. There were also a few other general interpersonal factors related to satisfaction, such as teamwork, harmony, trust, and respect. Cortese (2007), however, as cited by Hayes, Bonner & Pryor (2010), identified several areas where immediate supervisors were associated with nurse dissatisfaction.
3. Extrapersonal
The third satisfaction-related cluster identified by the literature review was “Extrapersonal,” which is hospital-level and institutional. These are outside of the nurse and his/her relationships with others and are more administrative. These include such things as staffing, overtime, budget issues, overly routine work, equipment and supplies, opportunities for professional growth, and pay.
Learn How HealthStream Can Help Chief Nursing Officers Address Their Organizational Challenges.
References
AMN (2012). 2012 survey of registered nurses. Job satisfaction, career patterns and trajectories. AMN Healthcare, 1-22.
Hayes, B., Bonner, A. & Pryor, J. (2010) Factors contributing to nurse job satisfaction in the acute hospital setting: A review of the recent literature. Journal of Nursing Management, 18, 804-814.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsLearn more about HealthStream's Provider Credentialing, privileging, & enrollment solutions.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All Products