What Does Nurse Turnover Rate Mean and What Is the Rate?
Policy Politics & Nursing PracticePublished 1 August 2014
Christine Kovner, Carol S. Brewer, Farida Fatehi, Jin Jun
Citations334
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score0.85
SNIP0.87
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
The RN Work Project is a 10-year panel study of new nurses and shows consistent and accurate measurement of turnover is an important step in addressing organizational work environments and policies about the nursing workforce.
Abstract
Registered nurse turnover is an important indicator of the nurse job market. Despite its wide use as a measure for health-care system analysis, there is a lack of consistency in the definition of turnover. Some definitions include any nurse leaving an organization; others may include involuntary and voluntary leaving. These inconsistent definitions also result in various turnover rates. The RN Work Project is a 10-year panel study of new nurses. Data were collected from the new nurses, rather than from a specific organization. About 17.5% of new nurses leave their first job within 1 year of starting their jobs. Consistent and accurate measurement of turnover is an important step in addressing organizational work environments and policies about the nursing workforce.
Keywords
Health Professions
Journal of ManagementA Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Correlates of Employee Turnover: Update, Moderator Tests, and Research Implications for the Next Millennium
3,950 Citations2000Rodger W. Griffeth, Peter W. Hom +1 more
Academy of Management JournalA Causal Model of Turnover for Nurses.
980 Citations1981J. L. Price, Charles W. Mueller
Total effects on turnover were found to be the greatest for four determinants: intent to stay, opportunity, general training, and job satisfaction.
International Journal of ManpowerReflections on the determinants of voluntary turnover
919 Citations2001James L. Price
Medical CareStaff Turnover and Quality of Care in Nursing Homes
409 Citations2005Nicholas G. Castle, John Engberg
Multivariate analysis shows that decreases in quality are associated with decreases in RN turnover, and with increases in NA and LPN turnover, especially increases from moderate-to-high levels of turnover.
Journal of Advanced NursingPredictors of actual turnover in a national sample of newly licensed registered nurses employed in hospitals
304 Citations2011Carol S. Brewer, Christine Kovner +3 more
Turnover problems are complex, which means that there is no one solution to decreasing turnover, and one specific approach that may improve turnover rates is hospital policies that reduce strains and sprains.
JONA The Journal of Nursing AdministrationRevisiting Nurse Turnover Costs
288 Citations2007Cheryl B. Jones
A method to inflation adjust baseline nurse turnover costs using the Consumer Price Index is presented to gain current knowledge of organizational nurse turnover Costs when primary data collection is not practical and to determine costs and potential savings if nurse retention investments are made.
Social Science & MedicineReview of nursing turnover research, 1977–1996
257 Citations1998Teresa Wai Chi Tai, Sherry I. Bame +1 more
A summary of turnover study methods and procedures, and a summary of socio-demographic, organizational, and social support factors associated with turnover of nursing staff are presented.
Journal of Nursing ManagementA literature review of nursing turnover costs
249 Citations2012Yin Li, Cheryl B. Jones
A literature review of studies examining nursing staff turnover costs published between 1990 and 2010 is reported, finding inconsistencies in past studies in terms of the conceptualization and measurement of nurse turnover and turnover rates.
AJN American Journal of NursingNewly Licensed RNs' Characteristics, Work Attitudes, and Intentions to Work
248 Citations2007Christine Kovner, Carol S. Brewer +4 more
The negative attitudes expressed in response to some survey questions suggest that newly licensed RNs may not remain in the acute care settings where they start out, and investing in better orientation and management may be the key to retaining them in hospitals.
OJIN The Online Journal of Issues in NursingThe Costs and Benefits of Nurse Turnover: A Business Case for Nurse Retention
210 Citations2007Cheryl B. Jones, Michael Gates
The use of benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analysis relevant to nurse turnover and retention, and the construction of a business case for nurse retention are discussed, which provides a foundation for including the costs and benefits of nurse retention and retention in estimating the economic value of nursing.
Policy Politics & Nursing PracticeThe Impact of Nurse Turnover on Patient, Nurse, and System Outcomes: A Pilot Study and Focus for a Multicenter International Study
191 Citations2006Linda O’Brien‐Pallas, Pat Griffin +7 more
A study that was designed to refine a methodology to examine the costs associated with nurse turnover provided significant evidence to justify increased emphasis on nurse retention strategies and the creation of healthy work environments for nurses.
Medical Care Research and ReviewNursing Home Staffing, Turnover, and Case Mix
168 Citations2003Charlene Harrington, James H. Swan
This study examined the predictors of total nurse and registered nurse staffing hours per resident day separately in all free-standing California nursing homes using staffing data from state cost reports in 1999, taking into account nursing turnover rates, resident case mix levels, and other factors.
The GerontologistNursing Home Staff Turnover: Impact on Nursing Home Compare Quality Measures
168 Citations2007Nicholas G. Castle, John Engberg +1 more
Journal of Nursing ScholarshipImpact of Nursing Unit Turnover on Patient Outcomes in Hospitals
162 Citations2009Sung‐Heui Bae, Barbara A. Mark +1 more
The findings of this study provide specific information on the operational impact of turnover so as to better design, fund, and implement appropriate intervention strategies to prevent registered nurse exit from nursing units.
Nursing ManagementTurnover Among Nursing Home Staff
132 Citations1997Jiska Cohen‐Mansfield
Research demonstrates links between turnover and employment/employee characteristics and employment availability, and for the cognitively impaired nursing home resident, constant change of staff is bound to aggravate disorientation.
Journal of Nursing ScholarshipTurnover of New Graduate Nurses in Their First Job Using Survival Analysis
126 Citations2012Sung‐Hyun Cho, Ji Yun Lee +2 more
Hospital characteristics as well as job satisfaction were significantly associated with new graduates' turnover, and the high turnover of new graduates could be reduced by improving their job satisfaction.
JONA The Journal of Nursing AdministrationImpact on Organizational and Patient Outcomes
123 Citations2003Barbara A. Mark, Jeanne Salyer +1 more
This study focuses on professional nursing practice specifically at the nursing unit level, and uses a new analytic technique that permits examination of the simultaneous effects of professional Nursing practice on both organizational and patient outcomes.
The GerontologistMeasuring Staff Turnover in Nursing Homes
119 Citations2006Nicholas G. Castle
Findings show that the definition of turnover used could influence the relative difference between these reported rates by as much as 47%.
Health AffairsNational Health Spending In 2012: Rate Of Health Spending Growth Remained Low For The Fourth Consecutive Year
105 Citations2014Anne B. Martin, Micah Hartman +3 more
Despite an uptick in enrollment growth, Medicare spending growth slowed slightly in 2012, mainly due to lower payment updates, and growth in private health insurance spending remained near historically low rates in 2012.
Health Care Management ReviewUse of temporary nurses and nurse and patient safety outcomes in acute care hospital units
83 Citations2010Sung‐Heui Bae, Barbara A. Mark +1 more
This study found that nurses working on nursing units with moderate levels of external temporary RN hours reported fewer medication errors than those without using any external temporaryRNs.
Human Resource Management JournalEmployee turnover and operational performance: the moderating effect of group‐oriented organisational culture
81 Citations2011David C. Mohr, Gary J. Young +1 more
JONA The Journal of Nursing AdministrationImpact of Healthy Work Environments and Multistage Nurse Residency Programs on Retention of Newly Licensed RNs
54 Citations2012Marlene Kramer, Diana Halfer +2 more
The objective of the study was to examine effects of nurse-confirmed healthy unit work environments and multistage nurse residency programs (NRPs) on retention rates of newly licensed RNs (NLRNs) and to establish a culture of retention and healthy clinical nurse practice environments.
Journal of Nursing ManagementThe effect of nurse manager turnover on patient fall and pressure ulcer rates
46 Citations2013Nora E. Warshawsky, Mary Kay Rayens +2 more
Nurse manager turnover and intensive care unit status were associated with more pressure ulcers and medical/surgical unit status wasassociated with more falls, which may negatively impact patient outcomes.
Journal of Nursing ManagementFactors affecting turnover of Japanese novice nurses in university hospitals in early and later periods of employment
42 Citations2010Eiko Suzuki, Akira Tagaya +4 more
Burnout was revealed to be the most significant factor affecting the turnover of novice nurses and nurse managers should be vigilant and exercise care in the prevention of burnout among novice nurses.
AJN American Journal of NursingOriginal Research
34 Citations2014Christine Kovner, Carol S. Brewer +2 more
These findings indicate a shift from the traditional work patterns of NLRNs, who often began their careers in hospitals, and Employers' heightened awareness of such changing trends among NL RNs may help them in planning for RN recruitment and retention.
Journal of Professional NursingThe Nursing Career Process From Application Through the First 2 Years of Employment
33 Citations2009Christine Kovner, Maja Djukic
The results suggest that room for improvement exists for retention across educational and work settings, but the system appears to be most leaky at the point of admitting qualified applicants.
Journal of Nursing RegulationThe 2013 National Nursing Workforce Survey of Registered Nurses
24 Citations2013Jill S. Budden, Elizabeth H. Zhong +2 more
AJN American Journal of NursingOriginal Research
23 Citations2012Carol S. Brewer, Christine Kovner +2 more
It is found that RNs’ commitment to their current employers was higher in the later cohort than in the earlier one, although neither nurses’ incomes nor their reported job satisfaction levels had changed.
Journal of Nursing ManagementPreferences of Israeli nursing students in choosing their future workplace
21 Citations2011Orly Toren, Revital Zelker +1 more
It is important to periodically review the considerations and motives of nursing students when choosing a workplace and responsively implement various strategies to recruit new nurses.
PubMedThe characteristics of registered nurses whose licenses expire: why they leave nursing and implications for retention and re-entry.
16 Citations2010Susan M. Skillman, Lorella Palazzo +2 more
Findings suggest that RNs who allow their licenses to expire do so because they have reached retirement age or, among those who do not cite age as a factor, because many are unable or unwilling to work in the field.
Medical Care Research and ReviewMeasuring the Nursing Workforce: Clarifying the Definitions
14 Citations2005Kyndaron Reinier, Mary Val Palumbo +5 more
The review indicates that in practice, no standard method is used despite attempts to standardize the calculation of vacancy and turnover rates, and the Vermont pilot study results demonstrate that a richer profile of the health workforce can be obtained by using both standard workforce measures and more subjective questions to assess a statewide need for nurses.
PubMedThe graduate nursing workforce: does an international perspective have relevance for New Zealand?
7 Citations2011Susan D. Scott, Annette Huntington +2 more
The most likely reasons for mobility, both within nursing or out of the profession, have been found to be related to the work environment and family responsibilities, and suggest that ongoing innovation in roles and skills within the professional work context is required to ensure longer term retention of graduates.