Nurse Turnover Case Study Essay

Aside from catering to the new graduate RN and improving their retention rates, turnover rates of experienced nurses are still prevalent. Nurse managers and leaders should be asking the question, why? Why are nurses leaving their jobs? What factors are contributing to their resignation? A case study was conducted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital due to their issue with an above national average turnover rate of nursing staff. They noted that this increase turnover was causes additional stress on employees and a decline in patient care satisfaction (“Case Study: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital”, 2015). On account of their high turnover rates, the hospital began conducting qualitative and quantitative exit interviews on staff who resigned. Although retrospective in nature, the

As nurses leave an organization, it places more stress on the nurses that remain; increasing their patient load and responsibilities. The increase in workload of nurse shows a “highly negative impact on emotional exhaustion and vigor” (Van Bogaert et al., 2017, p.12). Van Bogaert et al. (2017) go on to state that “high and prolonged workloads were related to nurses’ decreased adequacy and efficacy, complaints of fatigue, headache and vulnerability for diseases” and that this also “affects nurses’ feelings of frustration, negativity and sadness”. It is clear that these issues related to burnout of nurses due to increased workload as a result of high turnover rates and nursing shortages can be detrimental to not only the nurse but the entire team as well. It creates a cyclic process of nurses leaving positions due to workload and burnout from high turnover rates. To break the cycle, adequate staffing and decreased nursing turnover rates need to occur. By establishing a positive work environment and valuing employee’s job satisfaction, one will begin to see a change in turnover