Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
8-2023
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3345-3677
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Nursing
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Linda Gibson
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Colleen Marzilli
Abstract
Nurses are the frontline in the security of the United States. Their wellbeing and retention in the workforce is of the utmost of importance. Nurses are leaving at increasing levels with just over 27% turnover rates across the nation in 2021. Organizations are experiencing increasing fiscal losses and the average loss for a nurse leaving is just over $46,000. The prioritization of nurses’ wellbeing and taking steps to address policy that promotes the sustainability of this very valuable workforce has the potential to pay high dividends for nurses individually, the security of the nation, and the good of the organization. The researcher utilized a survey to examine the correlation between nursing retention rates and resiliency to provide evidence to guide best practices in nursing retention initiatives and interventions for increasing nursing resilience.
The researcher used two tools, the Casey-Fink Nurse Retention Survey and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, along with a demographic section designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data to hear the nurse, gain insight, and discover interventions to meet those needs. This survey through SurveyMonkey was disseminated to members of the Army Nurse Corps and 96 returned the survey. The participants were tenured nurses with a mean years of nursing of 18.26 years. Projected outcomes include interventions for a more prepared, healthier, more resilient workforce that can meet the current and future demands or threats against our nation. Outcomes also included improved value-based care, increased nursing retention, and decreased fiscal loss at the organization-level. From evidence gained through surveying nurses, the data were analyzed using Kendall rank correlations to examine the strength of the correlation between resilience and retention variables. The findings displayed high levels of stress in this workforce, with 67.25% of nurses stating high levels of stress and only half of them having a mentor. The findings indicate the need for work conditions conducive to a healthier work-life balance, such as
iv
the positive correlation between the availability of shorter shifts and increased retention. The current healthcare environment calls for an immediate and drastic change to care for and retain the nursing workforce and has the potential to lower costs for organizations and provide quality, value-based care, holistic health and wellness for nurses, and better patient outcomes because of their wellness.
Keywords: nursing retention, resiliency, nursing welfare, attrition, nurse advocacy, work- life balance
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Watson, Kelly J., "A Practice-Based Inquiry Into the Correlation Between Nursing Retention Rates and Resiliency" (2023). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 655.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/655