Recruitment and retention: successful strategies in critical care

Recruitment and retention of critical care nurses is a major concern for nurse managers. Factors that affect recruitment and retention are management style, perceptions of isolation, stress, and burnout. Decentralization, primary nursing, and clinical advancement programs are strategies that allow nurses to participate in decision making at the unit level and to be recognized for their individual contributions. The application of these strategies to a cardiac surgery intensive care unit is presented.