By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
A nurse manager recently asked me on a webinar if there was one thing that she could do in her retention efforts with her new nurses that would cost very little money. I did not hesitate in my answer – work diligently on establishing solid connections between your new staff members and your current team from the very beginning of the nurse’s employment. The rationale behind this advice is the change we have seen in healthcare environments from 2020 to the present. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, most leaders successfully kept their teams together and marveled at the level of team collaboration.
Fast forward to today in 2022, and we find ourselves in a much different place. When it became evident to nurses that even with a vaccine available, the pandemic would not end because of disinformation and distrust – things changed, and nurses became much more pessimistic about the future. Nurse turnover began to skyrocket, and widespread use of travel and agency nurses became commonplace.
Feeling connected is something that is missing on most nursing teams today. During COVID, nursing teams lost the rituals that held them together, and most have not yet established new ones. Teamwork has been disrupted. There is an endless churn of travelers on some nursing teams. New graduates join teams and don’t feel like they are part of anything special – making it easy to leave with few regrets. Seasoned nurses don’t invest in new nurses because they assume most will be short-timers. Nurse managers acknowledge that they barely know the names of new staff when in the past they knew their families and children. It is a sad state of affairs but fixing problems can’t begin unless you acknowledge that they exist.
A lack of connection has led to many nurses feeling like they are dispensable and their organization does not value their wellbeing. A new graduate told me that when she recently resigned – no one even asked her why. She continued, I think they just assumed that I would travel like everyone else, but I am not. I have never felt more alone than I feel in this job. No one cares about me or my career – it is how do we staff this unit for the next shift. I feel like a warm body. In a new report by McKinsey on Addressing Gen Z mental health challenges –Generation Z was found to be more disconnected with a higher likelihood of mental health problems than any other generation in the workplace. We will never overcome the recruitment and retention challenges without fixing the disconnectedness.
There are good reasons for optimism. We see some health systems taking small bets with new initiatives to bring back the sense of connection. Examples include:
- The Battle Buddy Program – designed to forge relationships between new staff based on a program first developed by the army. This program was first piloted by the New York City Hospital System See the blog I wrote on this.
- The Kaumatua Mentoring Program – a 12-week structured mentoring program now being piloted at St. Lucie Medical Center in Florida based on the wise elder’s program used by the Maori tribe in Australia and New Zealand. Seasoned nurses called the Big Ks mentor new graduates (the Little Ks) for 12 weeks with structured conversations designed to build relationships and teach the culture.
- Team Backup as an additional core nursing competency to other nursing KSAs.
- A Buddy on Every Shift – an assignment program where every nurse is assigned a backup buddy.
- Restoring our Rituals – a program used as a way to re-engage nursing practice councils.
- A New Nurse Welcome Package – welcome packages are sent to nurses’ homes before their first day. The welcome package includes a piece of clothing (hat or shirt) with the logo of the nursing team – Instagram postings are an additional plus for recruitment.
- Meet our New Staff Board – before their arrival, information about new staff is placed on the new staff board in a breakroom or lounge with pictures and key information about the new staff that will be joining the team.
- The Use of Stay Interviews to examine staff connectedness and risk of leaving. See the blog I wrote on Stay Interviews.
- The What Will It Take Initiative – nurse managers, intentionally forge relationships with travelers on 13-week contracts and continually ask what will it take to get you to join our team.
- The Retirement Glide Path Program – instead of abrupt departures, seasoned nurses are given a glide path toward retirement with reduced hours and an intentional focus on transmitting the team culture.
Healthcare is and will always be a team sport. When teams fall apart, they need to be rebuilt. Restoring connectedness will not happen with planning. A full-court focus on building connections among team members is the place to start.
© emergingrnleader.com 2022
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