Notes on Retention ~ Nursing World Cafe, January 9 & 15, 2008, Medford, Oregon

Retention ~ Action Steps created to support the top two strategies voted on by members of the cafes:

Strategy #1 ~ Flexibility

• Work out a sample shift schedule that incorporates a variety of shift start hours and length of shifts
• Job share full time positions (Lynn Getzaff)
• Utilize more experienced nurses (nearing retirement) as mentors/teachers for newer nurses (LG)
• Flexibility: Steps to take to increase efficiency of admission/discharge process (i.e. How to decrease redundancy in charting and paperwork and increase time at the bedside - Work smarter, not harder. (Goldie)
• Create Daycare Network within facility/department to look at creative coverage to meet daycare needs of staff (Goldie)
• Assess work shift preferences in department to trial creative staffing plan that balances department needs with staff preferences (i.e., fair rotation of the less desirable shifts among all staff (Goldie)
• Meet with DONs & Directors of larger clinics to arrive at a concensus to agree to create efforts to allow flexibility within their organizations, e.g., job sharing, educational programs for experienced nurses to move to o ther specialty areas, etc.
• Flexibility: Work hours - change from traditional 7:00-3:00 or 7:00-7:00 to flexible start and stop times (Jane Broden)
• Shifts include 4-hour, 6-hour, 8, 10, & 12 hour shifts - go away from 12 hour shifts. (Jane Broden)
• Create a dialog with hospital/clinic administrators, unit managers to communicate the increased demand on our profession - stressing flexibility of hours per shift, etc. and opening of communication to the realities of the job. Cutting labor is NOT the answer (Rassett)
• Allow nurses to design their own schedules within parameters of employer needs (Ann Carlson)
• Flexibility - Job sharing - 1, 2, or 3 nurses share a fulltime position and can flex their schedules to provide the full-time coverage between them.  Nurses with young families (empowerment) nurses aging and nurses caring for aging parents. (N/N)
• Flexible benefits packages/structures, medical dental etc. model to some extent to fit the individual nurse. Benefits include out of the box healthy life style package subsidizing (aerobic (gym) exercise, nutrition, with benchmarks for participation. (N/N)
• Flexibility Action Plan: 1) self/unit-based scheduling (self governance); and 2) institute ability for nurses to laterally travel to other units. (Bill H??)
• Retention: Flexibility: a) create a non-traditional nurse career ladder that flexibly rewards and promotes RNs based on: 1) Education, experience, skills and 2) exceptional contribution to the field of nursing and care of the patient. (Sandy Olson)
• Flexibility - Allow staff nurses to be involved in making the schedule for the unit they work on. (n/n)
• Community-wide Centralized Clearinghouse for information on all aspects of nursing in Rogue Valley:  Action Plan: Develop Program in community through employment office or job council that deals solely with community nursing needs and opportunities available re: "Craigslist for Nursing" - (N/N)
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Strategy #2 ~ Create a Community Liaison or Nurse Navigator/Ombudsman

• Nurse Navigator: Collect job descriptions and qualifications of various positions and include quotes from nurses currently in those jobs about what they like and dislike about their jobs (Lynn Getzaff)
• Create community liaison position with ties to community facilities (i.e., hospitals, clinics, offices) to serve as advocate for nurses (L. Stanley Ra)
• Discuss with future employers their needs for staffing and couple that with my needs for quality of life (N/N)
• Meet with DONs, Clinic Administrators to create a task force toward committing to Nurse REtention via a Nurse Ombudsman. (Diedre Goldberg)
• Refashion the passion - by creating a position for a coordinator representing the nurses and community to facilitate a service to coordinate nurses and nursing positions including new grads, the "aging" RN populations, relocated RNs, etc. (Rassett)
• Nurse Navigator or Ombudsman focus is to retain nurses in nursing versus a recruitment which fosters the competition already fulminating in our community (Sue Kretschmann)
• Ombudsman - Communicate clearly with community regarding heart-felt nursing issues that promote RN retention and those that repell RNs from the role and/or professions with cross organizational partnerships (SK)
• Ombudsman - Develop region-wide, dynamic RN vacancy listing that the Ombudsman would use in talent-management for nurses within Souther Oregon (Sue Kretschmann)
• 1) Create a regional website for nursing with a help wanted board (Jobs & contact information); 2) Community information and sales pitch for those outside the area; 3) educational opportunities for those within the communities; and 4) creative other things - Fund it with a grant from the Regional Workforce develop & on-going with a small fee for posting help-wanted ads.  Include stakeholders (Ann Carlson)
• Nurse Navigator - Advisor model as a job council structure (N/N)
• Community Wide Nursing - Have RVMC/Providence Community governement, RCC, SOU share in maintaining funding times 5-year committment to staff clearinghouse (Bill Hoyston??)
• Retention Strategy: Community RN - 1) Create an online clearinghouse of traditional and non-traditional RN roles in the community; and 2) create a cadre of RNs with passion or nursing as community spokespersons (Sandy Olson)
• Nurse Navigator: Nursing website for Jackson County for quick information gathering with the contact number for a live person support. (n/n)
• Nurse Navigator: This person (or group of people) works outside of hospital; Community of peopl from all aspects of nursing care, internet, hook RN up with mentor in unit of choice - Linda Overstake
• Help match nurses to their passions in the community
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