Will they stay or will they go? Insight into nursing turnover.

T he nursing profession is being faced with the dilemma of increasing retention and decreasing turnover of nursing staff in the face of economic limitations. Given the current state of the economy, turnover has decreased significantly as retir-ees continue to work and part-time employees work full-time to support their families. As a profession, nursing needs to be forward thinking ; as the economy improves, the anticipated shortage will impact all areas of healthcare. Older nurses will retire, and younger nurses will relocate or change jobs. In the United States, 1.2 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2014. 1 When a nurse resigns, the vacancy needs to be filled, which incurs added cost for orientation and has a direct impact on the budget. Recent studies report the costs of nurse turnover to range from $22,000 to $64,000 per nurse in the United States. 2 Although turnover can't be eliminated; the realistic and proactive goal is to minimize its impact. Predicting possible turnover will permit intervention to promote retention, control timing of departures, and provide time for contingency planning that's proactive rather than reactive. Nurse leaders need to recognize that focus-ing on job satisfaction, generational expectations , social connectivity, and surroundings to improve work environments will potentially reduce job turnover. The relative impact of job satisfaction, pay satisfaction, and organizational commitment on turnover intentions suggests that organizational commitment has the strongest and most direct impact. Organizational characteristics that influence retention and turnover will be the foundation for future recruitment. Nurses' job satisfaction Job satisfaction is a critical factor in the recruitment and retention of nurses. Aiken and associates reported that 41% of U.S. nurses were dissatisfied with their jobs, and nearly one in four plans to leave their job within a year. Nurse dissatisfaction is present in all organizations to some degree, according to the American Organization of Nurse Executives. The key variables associated with nurses' job satisfaction are communication with supervisor, autonomy, recognition, routini-zation, communication with peers, fairness, and locus of control. 3 Autonomy and task delegation are the strongest predictors for job satisfaction. It's important for staff members to know who's responsible for what tasks in the workplace. Having autonomy and control over workplace decisions is crucial to employee satisfaction. 4 Creating a shared vision supports commitment to pursuing collective goals and interests. Job satisfaction highlights four recurrent themes: leadership, professional growth, pay, and stress. Stress is …