A Little Bit about Me
       • I have been a registered nurse since 1982, with my career primarily focus in 
        medical surgical nursing
       • I completed my doctorate in 2004 and have been teaching graduate students 
        since that time
       • I have served as a director of nursing research supporting the Magnet® 
        designation at OLOL Regional Medical Center
       • I have served as the Director of Assessment and Research at the University, 
        prior to assuming the Dean position in the School of Health Professions
       • I also serve as a University Research Methodologist at the University of Phoenix
       • This study was conducted in collaboration with the Medical Center and the 
        Nursing Research Council as part of a recruitment and retention program
                                       Literature Review
                                                                              2
             • Age is a predictor of job satisfaction and nurse retention (χ  =34.14; p < .
               001). 
             • Adequate staffing is a predictor of work satisfaction (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 
               [0.31, 0.61]).
             • When managers are not engaged and visible on the unit trust is affected
             • When the nurse was a respected member of the healthcare team, (99.3%; 
               Mean = 3.08; SD = .64), believed that their talents were appreciated 
               (99.9%; Mean = 2.91; SD = .70) and that their contributions were 
               acknowledged (99.3%; Mean 2.63; SD = .70) they were more likely to 
               remain
             • Magnet designated hospitals had significantly better work environments (t = 
               -5.29, p < .001) 
             • Satisfaction with pay was related to nursing retention (Mean 3.6; SD = .95); 
               however, the reward is short lived and is a weak predictor of nurse retention
        Study Purpose
    The purpose of this mixed methods 
    study was to understand the 
    perceived retention attributes 
    important to medical surgical nurses
                                      Sample
             •All acute care hospitals in the FMOLHS 
               participated
             •Of the 2320 RNs approximately 594 (26%) 
               practice in Medical-Surgical nursing
             •108 Nurses met the inclusion criteria
                • Work on a Medical Surgical Unit
                • Employed less than one year
                            st
                • In their 1   RN position
        Quantitative Survey, Data Collection
       • Nurses and Work Satisfaction Survey
        • Initially developed by Stamps in 1977 and revised by Aiken in 2000
        • Sixty items (α = .87) in nine subscales (α = 0.72 – 0.86)
        • One item assessed intent to leave in the next year (α = 0.91)
        • Rated on a five-point Likert scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
       • Electronic Survey, 315 participated, 151 met the inclusion 
        criteria
       • All five acute care facilities in FMOLHS participated