Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Hickey-Keegan, Julia
Author's Email Address	jkh8960@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
URN	etd-04112005-134229
Title	The Nursing Shortage and Reasons for RN Flight from Florida Hospitals
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Nursing, School of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Laurie Grubbs Committee Chair
Keywords	Nursing Shortage and Reasons
Date of Defense	2005-04-05
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract ABSTRACT This study was performed to identify the reasons Florida hospital Registered Nurses leave hospital employment. The study was a descriptive study using convenience sampling. Inclusion criteria included RNs who held an active Florida RN license, were between 18-65 years of age, and who resigned from a Florida hospital job between June 1, 2002 and June 30, 2004. A research proposal was submitted to the participating hospital administration and approval to place recruitment posters in the nurses’ break rooms was obtained. The posters had an informative flyer to recruit interested RNs to participate in the study. After approval from Florida State University, Office of Research, the researcher contacted the participants, obtained informed consent, then administered a demographic and post exit interview for RNs either by phone or mail. A sample of 50 RNs participated in this study. The demographic characteristics of the sample were analyzed. Most of the participants were females, either married or divorced and worked full-time. The predominant race was Caucasian, and most held a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Their average age was 36 years. The sample participants had an average of three jobs in Florida hospitals and had been licensed for an average of eight years. viiii Descriptive non-parametric statistical analyses were performed on the raw data. Findings indicated that the most frequent reason for leaving was nurse-patient ratio. Wages, workload and working conditions were the second, third and fourth reasons, respectively. When asked what their top three reasons were, RNs indicated wages, workload and nurse-patient ratio. Open-ended questions provided insight into reasons and recommendations for improvements in the work environment. Reasons identified in this section included: Nurse-patient ratios, lack of communication with nursing administration and supervisors, low wages/benefits, and scheduling issues. Recommendations for improving the work environments included: Administration listening to staff concerns and suggestions, administrative accountability to safe nurse-patient ratios, and patient acuity levels. Also recommended were increases in wages and decreases in the workloads of RNs. The participants were asked to indicate an acceptable hourly salary; they ranged from $19.00- $50.00 per hour; with a mean of $31.67, and a median of $32.50 per hour. Reasons given for leaving were compared with the demographic characteristics to identify any correlations. Positive correlations were found between years as a RN and workload and return to school. Other positive correlations existed between the number of hospital jobs and x relocation, specialty change, work schedule, on-call duty, physicians, and security issues. Chi square testing was performed and only educational degree by return to school was significant; baccalaureate degree RNs more often chose return to school as a reason for leaving. The findings of this study indicate several recommendations for improvements in the work environments of Florida hospital Registered Nurses. These recommendations are: lower and/or mandated nurse-patient ratios, increased hourly salaries and better benefits, and decreased RN workloads. Additional recommendations include: effective and open communication between staff RNs and administrators, empathetic supervisors and directors, and increases in educational programs targeted at RN proficiency skills and clinical procedures. Administration and staff RN relationships need improvement in the areas of adaptive behaviors and communication. A degree of accountability needs to be placed at the administration level with safe nurse-patient ratios being implemented. Nursing administration should examine patient care models and consider reorganization, if necessary. Nurturing and recognition of special skills and outstanding job performance of RNs can improve morale and employee satisfaction. Hospital administration may want to create a position for a retention specialist to gather information from exit interviews, and to work with staff on issues contributing to turnover. xi
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    HickeyKeegan_Thesis.pdf 3.40 Mb 00:15:43 00:08:05 00:07:04 00:03:32 00:00:18