Across the country, healthcare leaders have recognized the importance of properly training new graduate RNs (NGRNs) to ensure their hospitals are staffed with competent clinical talent that provides the best patient care and stays with the hospital well after graduation. Research indicates NGRN turnover is as high as 55%-61% in the first 24 months of employment. With the demand for RNs expected to rise by 40% by 2020 – coupled with a mere 6% rise in RN supply, it is critical hospitals retain NGRNs. Hospitals often employ their own residency program to extend traditional orientation efforts. However, without using an industry expert or third party to manage a residency program, healthcare facilities face the risk of misusing resources and staff, and finding their residency program ineffective.
Now more than ever, nurses are expected to hit the ground running after graduation. Some of the largest reasons for failure are improper NGRN transition to practice, lack of critical thinking and time management skills, fear of patient harm, and new exposure to a work environment. Patients have increasingly complex medical conditions, there is often a lack of proper mentors, increased generational diversity and expectations, and performance anxiety. Combined, these factors can certainly cause the NGRN to feel overwhelmed without appropriate navigation and integration into the work setting. This increases the risk of new nurse attrition, all while nurses from the baby boomer generation are retiring at an unprecedented rate.
The Tag-a-long Nurse Transition to Practice Model
In a traditional, in-house preceptor model, the nurse preceptor maintains a full patient load while the student tags along, or shadows the experienced nurse. This model makes it difficult for the preceptor to spend time instructing the student or providing proper curriculum. Furthermore, nurse preceptors should be chosen for fit, rather than availability. A great nurse doesn’t necessarily equal a great preceptor! New grad nurses often feel they are seen as a burden, and are more likely to burn out and leave the hospital, resulting in financial stress for the hospital. The total cost for a hospital to replace one nurse is approximately $80,000 in recruitment, orientation, and training, and each percentage point increase in nurse turnover costs the average hospital $300,000 per year. For example, a hospital that employs 500 nurses with a 20% turnover rate will spend 8 million dollars yearly in turnover costs. However, if they reduce this turnover by just 2%, the hospital would save 800,000 dollars annually.
The SimpliFi Difference
At SimpliFi, we’ve developed a new grad RN transition to practice program with industry experts to provide the best outcomes for healthcare facilities. Our preceptor program rigorously assesses both preceptors and new nurses for proper fit before being accepted into the program. Each preceptor is thoroughly trained, and their patient load is 100% dedicated to the success of NGRNs. We also provide and coordinate a curriculum, including classroom instruction customized to the hospital’s needs, and is incentivized to the NGRNs success. Furthermore, the SimpliFi model incorporates a layer of risk mitigation for the facility by employing the NGRN for a “trial period” within the facility to determine fit without risk. SimpliFi employs NGRNs during the residency, so there is no FTE increase for the hospital, and NGRNs are actively incorporated into unit staffing model sooner, limiting unproductive time.
Utilizing SimpliFi’s Confidence Accelerating Practice (CAP) Program can result in increased nurse retention, decreased recruitment costs, as well as improved clinical outcomes such as fewer medication errors, readmissions, and hospital-acquired infections. Furthermore, a hospital can expect better patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction scores with more competent clinical talent, thus resulting in increased payer reimbursements in quality focused models.
To learn more about how SimpliFi’s CAP Program can help your hospital recruit and retain quality nurses, save money, and improve patient outcomes, get in touch with us today.