Chapter 4: Nurse Retention As A Result Of Transformational Leadership

Chapter 4: Nurse Retention As A Result Of Transformational Leadership
Nurses are not only considered as vital stakeholders but play essential roles in the daily operations of any healthcare institution. Without a higher rate of nurse retention, not even one single health organization can be able to realize its perceived objectives. Several organizations currently report that nurses tend to remain at the organizations only for a limited period, mostly 18 to 24 months 27 (Nelson et al., 2014). It has become a great challenge for different health institutions; even the academic teaching hospitals to retain some of their best’s nurses in the profession without keeping them empowered and engaged in their essential duties. As the shortage of nurses continues to grow with the retirement of baby boomers, organizations are taking severe measures to reduce nursing staff turnover rates. The reduction of turn-over rates among nurses would significantly lessen the known fiscal expense that is paid out to recruit and train the less skilled nurses and subsequently, save the organization millions of unnecessary costs

(Nei, Snyder & Litwiller, 2015). It is essential for the organizations to ensure higher productivity, efficiency, and retention of the nursing staff.  

For healthcare organizations to improve the retention rate of their nursing staff, there is an urgent need for changing the existing practice, both at the organizational and unit level. This starts right from the top leadership within the healthcare institution. It is the work of senior leadership to address the individual concerns and challenges that their nurses tend to face on their routine basis so that they can continue caring for the patient as they feel satisfied with their work environment (Nei, Snyder & Litwiller, 2015). A critical literature review on staff turnover suggests that retention of nurse staff can quickly be realized via effective leadership that tends to empower the individual nurses.

Nurses always leave their organizations of work due to some reasons like ambiguous and unchallenging roles, poor leadership, lack of recognition, and lastly, favoritism and limited opportunities for individual growth. However, a loss of a nurse, irrespective of the cause for leaving employment might cause a significant impact on the entire organization. Leroy, Anseel, Gardner & Sels (2015) stress on the fact that leadership in healthcare organizations need to prioritize employee retention strategies to help retain staff within the organization for an as long period as possible.

Nursing functions are very much exhausting, both mentally and physically, resulting in high cases of frequent burnout, low morale, and eventually increased turnover. There is strong evidence that psychological and emotional support from the top leadership can be motivating factors towards easing all sorts of stress acquired when handling the patients (Lea & Cruickshank, 2017). Scholarly evidence demonstrates that support given by top management to

the nursing staff can significantly reduce the turnover rate among such nurses. People who achieve personal satisfaction or comfort from their immediate supervisors are least likely to leave their job and profession while those who lack personal satisfaction are more likely to leave the organization for greater monetary compensation. Study findings have also shown that employees who are usually in the conflict between their professional values and the organizational values will most likely quit their jobs compared to those who do not have such conflicting values Weber, 2010). Those whom the organization’s values align with their values, needs, and desires are more apt to stay despite other co-workers leaving.

Lavoie‐Tremblay, Fernet, Lavigne & Austin (2016) carried out a study with the purpose

of exploring the relationship which is there between multidimensional leadership types and burnout among the nursing staff. The study, in this case, applied non-experimental study design in which data was collected from 601 nurses and the nurse managers who were working in different health care organizations. The authors found out that rewarding transformational leadership looks to be offering protection, especially from depersonalization. They further illustrated that active management tends to increase personal accomplishment on the side of employees. The study also reported that status of employment and the character of work tasks impacted on the connection which is there between organizational leadership and burnout among nurses. The study concluded that the relationship which is there between leadership style and exhaustion is very much complex in its whole nature, impacted by the situational factors of management leadership and the general ambiguous nature associated to fatigue. Nurses of different ages and at various stages of care