Becker's Hospital Review

25 CMO / CARE DELIVERY 'Let's hear their voices': Nursing leader on combating nurse turnover By Madeline Ashley W ith a recent report showing the nurse vacancy rate remains "critical" at 15.7% nationally, many health leaders are shedding light on the importance of reducing these numbers. "Lack of support, healthy work environment. ere's an increase in patient behaviors. at is very challenging for nurses, how to manage the behavioral patient, and it's just been on a high rise. You see it in primary care, you see it in the ED, you see it on the news. ere's nurses losing their lives in these situations," Stacy Bentil, DNP, MSN, RN, told Becker's. Dr. Bentil said a nurse's environment is a key factor for why we might be seeing higher turnover rates, and stresses the importance of looking at the "holistic" picture. "You've got to look at it with a different lens, try to reverse it. More well- being, mindfulness and wellness for those nurses. ey're running around, 12-hour shis, one bathroom break, if that, and a 30-minute lunch for 12 to 13 hours. Can we change the lens and maybe institute some type of well-being, wellness activity throughout the day just to kind of keep the momentum going," she said. Along with improvements to work life balance and loan forgiveness programs, Dr. Bentil said nurses deserve to feel heard. "Let them go to conferences and learn more. Let them partner with leadership and not just see leadership at the high level. Where's the front-liners at? Let's see them. Let's hear their voices. It's very important," Dr. Bentil said. To ensure nurses are not overwhelmed in their workplace, Dr. Bentil pointed to health policy to ensure proper staffing levels and workload assessments. "It needs to be looked at on a congressional level because nursing is everywhere. It's international, they're always going to need it, so how do we make it conducive and safe to be able to practice with the ratios that nurses are facing today." To combat existing nurse turnover rates, Dr. Bentil suggested healthcare organizations look to international nursing. "ey're very innovative and have different ideas as well. Partner with them. Let's make it global. It's a global profession." Dr. Bentil also highlighted the importance of capturing nursing interest even at a high school level. "Can they shadow in the summertime? A little internship, just to get acclimated to say this is cool, this is something I like, this is something I feel like I'll be passionate about and can provide great care to patients. Something I identify with." Along with looking at nursing through a new lens, Dr. Bentil said it's important for organizations to be at the forefront of engagement. "It is a challenge. We take it day by day, we strategize, if we were in our bedside nurses' shoes, what would we want? Hear the patient's feedback as well. Really try to cater to best practices," she said. Like what you see? All executives featured in this article will speak at the Becker's Academic Medical Center Leadership forum April 8-9 in Chicago. Hospital and health system leaders, click here to apply for a complimentary badge. Interested in exhibitor or sponsorship opportunities to connect with 3,000+ hospital and health system leaders? Download the prospectus here. ank you to our sponsor ECG Management. n The work nurse leaders would rather be doing By Mariah Taylor N urses said their favorite tasks were employee engagement and retention efforts and their least favorite tasks were capacity issues, according to an American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation study. The 2024 Longitudinal Nursing Leadership Insight Study has surveyed leaders since July 2020. The latest report, based on a survey conducted in November 2023, included responses from 2,476 nurse leaders. The survey tracks nurse leaders' top challenges, effective solutions, mental health needs and areas for support. Here are the 10 tasks nurse leaders said they find the most joy and most frustration doing (Note: Survey participants were asked to select five tasks for each category): Joyful tasks Employee engagement, retention efforts: 55% Awards and recognition: 54% Mentoring, guiding and performance review: 50% Meeting with direct reports, colleagues: 48% Rounding: 35% Quality improvement: 30% Strategic planning: 24% Staff development course participation: 16% Clinical work: 16% Patient satisfaction: 15% Frustrating tasks Capacity issues/constraints: 47% Incident reports, injuries, complaints: 38% Conflict resolution: 37% Budget: 32% Administrative work: 31% Supply chain disruption: 29% Scheduling, payroll: 20% Regulatory readiness: 19% Chart audits: 18% Productivity: 18% n

• Cover