How to Retain Nurses Using this Clinically Proven Method
The Cone Health Conceptual Framework For Nurse Retention Works, and it’s Easier than You Think
By Sarah J Storer, BS, MS, BSN, RN
If there’s one thing every nurse leader has on their mind, it’s nurse retention.
Our people in the field report back nearly every day that this is the case; it’s one of the biggest reasons that hospitals invest in Hercules.
And the concern is well-founded. Studies show that we are already in a nursing deficit, with that deficit continuing to grow.
By 2030, some projections say the United States will be short 2.3 MILLION nurses, a staggering number, and a frightening one, too.
For me, that makes me wonder if my parents will receive the care they need. They’re in their late seventies. They are quite healthy now, but I’m an ICU nurse, this is the age when folks started to make visits to me, healthy or not.
I digress.
There is a lot of talk of how to mitigate the nursing shortage.
- Entice more people to apply to nursing school.
- Pay nurses more.
- Automate more parts of the nursing role.
- Specialize more.
Lots of “more” tactics, but not a lot of strategy.
That is, until my colleague Gabbie Charles, PT, DPT sent along an article about the Cone Health Conceptual Framework.
The Framework is not about more. It’s a strategy that’s focused on stripping it all down to one basic question:
“Do nurses feel safe and protected by their hospital or not?”
In other words, take it back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If nurses feel protected, that they can remain free from injury, that they have the basics to do their job (The Framework calls this good “Hygiene”) then they will much more easily feel aligned to their Calling (Motivators) and feel satisfied with the place they work and the work itself.
Lest you wonder if this is too simple, The Framework was tested, and the results were astounding.
The hospital where The Framework was tested saw:
- A significant decrease in turnover in their MedSurg units
- A significant decrease in overall vacancies
- An increase in overall Employee Engagement (this metric came as a surprise and was not one the study was originally measuring!)
Not only were nurses happier…
“Cost savings by head count tracking from baseline reached more than $1.2 Million in the year post-implementation in the 3 highest performing units.”
Speaking from personal experience, I specifically chose the hospital where I spent most of my time at the bedside because I felt safe.
In fact, I felt so safe, I chose it twice.
It’s a long story, too long for this post, but let’s just say that my home hospital never made me fear for my license or my health, therefore I was able to focus on my Calling.
I loved it.
All this to say, the future of retaining nurses must lie in a strategic plan aimed at making nurses feel like the basics are covered: the equipment they need to do their job, a safe environment in which to their job and a job that keeps them free from injury.
Everything else is icing on the cake.
This study proves the strategy can work…let’s see what 2030 looks like.
About the Author:
Sarah J Storer, BS, MS, BSN, RN is the Creative Director for Hercules. As a career change nurse, Sarah spent the first part of her career in agency marketing, helping B2B companies tell better brand stories. She earned her BSN during the pandemic, made her way to the ICU, then came to Hercules to fulfill her dream of combining both her career passions into one. Her goal: that #notonemorenurse suffer injury from manual boosting.