Combating Nurse Turnover: A Cost-Effective Mentorship Intervention.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• High turnover and burnout rates are significant challenges in the nursing profession.
• Mentorship programs are increasingly utilized to support and retain healthcare staff.
• Experienced and newly hired nurses require targeted support for professional development and integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a 6-month mentorship program on nurse job satisfaction, burnout, engagement, and retention.
• To assess the influence of mentorship on both experienced mentors and newly hired mentees.
• To identify qualitative benefits of mentorship, such as improved socialization and goal attainment.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project involving a 6-month mentorship program.
• Participants included 12 experienced nurses (mentors) and 13 newly hired nurses (mentees) across 3 hospital units.
• Data collection involved quantitative measures (job satisfaction, burnout, engagement, intent to stay) and qualitative feedback.

Main Results:

• Limited statistical significance was found for improvements in job satisfaction, burnout, and engagement.
• Qualitative feedback highlighted enhanced goal achievement, increased comfort levels, and improved socialization through peer support.
• No participants in the mentorship program left their units, contrasting with an 18.6% turnover rate among nonparticipants.

Conclusions:

• The mentorship program demonstrated a positive effect on nurse retention, with zero turnover among participants.
• While quantitative outcomes for job satisfaction and burnout were not statistically significant, qualitative data suggest benefits in professional development and integration.
• Mentorship programs can be a valuable strategy for improving nurse retention and fostering a supportive work environment.