Background:
“Nurse retention is a global problem across all specialities but is exacerbated in critical care areas where elevated nurse–patient ratios and the use of advance technologies require greater numbers of highly educated and specialized nurses impacting costs and quality of patient care.”
Factors identified in previous research such as working conditions, burnout syndrome, organisational climate, staffing levels, empowerment, personal health and work pressure.
Relevance to practice:
“The shortage of critical care nurses is currently a global issue impacting costs and quality of patient care.”
Method:
A systematic mixed-method literature review.
Findings:
3 themes identified were quality of the work environment, nature of working relationships and traumatic/stressful workplace experiences.
- Quality of the work environment
Empowerment and professional development opportunities. Having enough time to recover from night shifts and the impact of inflexible rotations on work–life balance.
2. Nature of working relationships
When conflict occurs with families and relatives. Poor relationships between nurse to manager and nurse to physician, especially not being involved in the decision making process.
3. Traumatic/stressful workplace experiences
Futility in the level of care being provided, caring for the dying patient and decisions to forego life‐sustaining treatments.
Conclusion:
High nursing turnover is a global issue and nurse leaders in critical care areas need to take these findings into consideration when developing strategies to improve turnover and support strategies.
Keywords: Burnout; Culture: Nurse Retention; Stress; Teamwork.
Additional Resource: Best Nursing Degree from Shanna Shafer (BSN) regarding shortage of nurses and also nurse faculty in the US, and reshaping the future of nursing and nurse education.