Staff nurse retention. Laying the groundwork by listening

In response to critical staff shortages, the nursing leadership of a five-hospital system implemented a research program to create a health promoting organization that would support nurse retention. Since a health promoting organization supports each individual's participation in the decision-making process through communication and consensus-building, listening to the concerns of current nurse managers (Parsons & Stonestreet, 2003) and staff nurses was crucial for developing innovative retention strategies. This qualitative study utilized open-ended, data-generating questions in focus groups to elicit the issues staff nurses considered crucial to their continued employment. Consistent with findings in the literature, the quality of administrative management systems and relationships with physicians, nurse managers, peers, and administrators were essential factors for nurse retention in this system.