Nurse accountability program improves satisfaction, turnover.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Administration
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Healthcare reimbursement changes necessitate quality maintenance.
• Need for improved nurse accountability in acute care settings.
• Assumption that enhanced job satisfaction and reduced stress improve nurse retention and recruitment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a comprehensive program to enhance nurses' professional accountability.
• To assess the impact of the program on nurses' job satisfaction and job stress.
• To evaluate the program's effect on nurse turnover and financial outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Program components included credentialing, salaried status, holistic framework, continuum of care initiatives, acuity billing, decentralized organization, and dual-level practice.
• Job stress and job satisfaction were measured in 1983, 1985, and 1987.
• Nurse turnover rates and financial savings were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Significant decrease in nurse job stress and increase in job satisfaction observed by 1985.
• Nurse turnover rate decreased from 15.2% (1983) to 5.4% (1986).
• Substantial financial savings exceeding $500,000 over two fiscal years were reported.

Conclusions:

• The comprehensive program successfully improved nurses' job satisfaction and reduced job stress.
• The initiative led to significant reductions in nurse turnover and generated considerable financial savings.
• The findings support the benefits of enhancing professional accountability and improving working conditions for nurses in acute care facilities.