Think outside the box to find and keep OR nurses
The news is not good:
- The Princeton, NJ-based Gallup Organization conducted a survey that shows an aging operating room (OR) work force. More than 37% of OR nurses are between ages 41 and 50, and 14% are older than 50.
- According to the 2001 Same-Day Surgery reader survey, almost half of respondents reported significant impact (12.9%) or moderate impact (35.7%) from the nursing shortage.
- A survey conducted by Washington DC-based polling firm Peter Hart Research reports that one in five nurses plans to leave the profession in the next five years because of poor working conditions.
Let nurses check you out
Experts say that the best way to address your staffing needs during this time is to make it easy for nurses to check out your facility as a potential place of employment and offer benefits that recognize your staff’s importance and increase your chance of retaining good employees.
Obviously, a same-day surgery program must offer competitive salaries, benefits that are comparable to other programs in the community, and a flexible work schedule in order to attract and keep qualified nurses, says Sue Yaudes RN, nurse manager at Centre Community Surgical Center in State College, PA. Yaudes’ program offers these items, but goes one step further by offering a trip incentive for all staff.
"We’ve always offered a quarterly gift or check as incentives, but every other year we take a three-day trip over Labor Day weekend as a combined reward and team-building event," says Yaudes. Of the 31 employees who were eligible for the trip, 23 went to Cancun in 2001. Employees have the option of skipping the trip and taking one-half the cost of the trip as their incentive bonus, she adds.
"We don’t pay for spouses, but employees can bring their spouse at their own expense," says Yaudes. The cost to the same-day surgery program is between $500 and $600 per employee who takes the trip, she adds. The trip builds unity among the staff, Yaudes says. "The team building is a natural by-product of spending time together," says Yaudes. "On our patient surveys, we often have comments about our happy staff.’"
Partner with a school to attract nurses
In addition to innovative ways to reward and retain employees, same-day surgery managers are also looking for ways to attract nurses. "One of the most exciting things we have is an excellent relationship with a local college that offers a BSN program," says Sherron Kurtz, RN, MSA, CNOR, CNAA, director of perioperative services at Henry Medical Center in Stockbridge, GA. "Nursing students perform their clinical rotations, including one day in the operating room, at our facility," says Kurtz. Because the school also offers a perioperative elective, her facility has two or three other students meeting their clinical requirements in their OR, she adds.
"We’ve had some very good students work with us," says Kurtz. "In fact, we’ve hired at least one student out of each class." The advantage to the same-day surgery program is that the students are familiar with the OR and know if that is where they want to work, she explains.
Encourage children to consider nursing
Another way Henry Medical is trying to "grow" nurses for its program is to sponsor an Explorer Post, says Kurtz.
Explorers are part of the Learning For Life program, a subsidiary of the Irving, TX-based Boy Scouts of America, says Sara Needs, director of Learning for Life programs for the Atlanta Area Council of Boy Scouts. The Explorers program is designed to give boys and girls, ages 14-20, a chance to learn about a career field in which they are interested, she explains. Costs to the sponsoring organization are a $20 certification fee and $7 post leader fee. (To obtain more information, see "Sources and resources" at the end of this article.)
"The Explorers meet at the hospital, hear speakers from different areas of the hospital, and take tours," says Kurtz. "We’ve had a number of troop members become candy-stripers, which gives them even more time to work with our staff as they consider nursing or health care as a career." The three-year-old troop had its first member start nursing school this past fall, she says. "We also work with local schools to provide speakers on career days and encourage children to think of nursing as a career," Kurtz explains.
Don’t wait until children are seniors
Emphasis on the importance of nurses as well as the many different options for specialization within nursing is key points to make with this audience, she says. Kurtz believes the most important targets are fifth and sixth graders. "If you wait until the children are seniors in high school, it is often too late," she adds.
A job fair that is open to nurses from all surrounding areas is one way Kurtz’ program attempts to attract experienced nurses. "We held the job fair on a Saturday, advertised in the local newspapers, offered refreshments, and had human resource and nursing coordinators available to answer questions," says Kurtz. The job fair gave nurses a chance to learn more about the medical center, look around and ask questions without making a commitment to an interview, she explains. While none of the nurses hired as a result of the job fair were OR nurses, Kurtz’ program did hire a scrub tech who attended, she adds.
Once a nurse is hired, Kurtz says the best way to keep the person at your facility is to keep teaching new skills. "Today’s nurses want professional development to be a part of employment," she says. "If they are learning new skills, they stay happy and stay with you longer."
Sources and resource
For more information about recruitment and retention, contact:
• Sherron Kurtz, RN, MSA, CNOR, CNAA, Director of Perioperative Services, Henry Medical Center, 1133 Eagle’s Landing Parkway, Stockbridge, GA 30281. Telephone: (770) 389-2100, ext. 2357. Fax: (770) 389-2158. E-mail: [email protected].
• Sue Yaudes, RN, Nurse Manager, Centre Community Surgical Center, 1850 E. Park Avenue, Suite 103, State College, PA 16803. Telephone: (814) 234-6750. E-mail: [email protected].
For more information about setting up an Explorer’s Post, visit www.learning-for-life.org.
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