The Secret to Retaining Novice Nurses

Currently the nursing workforce is experiencing a shortage of nurses worldwide. In the United States alone there were thousands of unfilled nursing positions. Today, each nurse has several patients to care for, many of whom are acutely ill. Many patients have complex medical conditions requiring multiple treatments. With the increased job responsibilities, the seasoned nurse has little time to support the novice nurse. Poor working environments with long and irregular hours, heavy demanding patient loads, and a lack of mentoring have kept recruitment at an all time low. The current nursing workforce is growing older. Baby Boomers are coming of age soon. Not only will Baby Boomers nurses be retiring, but many will also become patients themselves without qualified, experienced nurses to care for them. Mentoring is the missing puzzle piece to retain of the novice nurse.