The Influence of Nursing Unit Characteristics on RN Vacancies in Specialized Hospice and Palliative Care

The nursing shortage is projected to intensify in the United States. Organizations providing specialized hospice and palliative care will be particularly hard hit. The purpose of our study was to examine the influence of the nursing unit on registered nurse (RN) vacancies and test the moderating role of recruitment strategies in perinatal hospices. We estimated the association between the nursing unit and RN vacancies and tested the interaction effects of recruitment strategies (signing bonus and recruitment bonus). Our findings showed that increasing RN unit size and nursing leadership directly affected vacancies and that recruitment bonuses had stronger influence on reducing vacancies than signing bonuses. The findings offer critical insights for hospice administrators in attracting nurses among specialized hospice and palliative care providers.