TITLE:
The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nurse Retention
AUTHORS:
Donel Richemond
KEYWORDS:
Nurse Retention, COVID-19 Pandemic, Strategy Implementation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.12,
December
6,
2024
ABSTRACT: This study aims to identify the effects of COVID-19 on nurse retention, providing crucial insights for healthcare institutions. The first objective is to examine how COVID-19 affected the nurse’s job security and demand, sense of purpose, and opportunity for growth to influence practice change. Secondly, to observe how the pandemic influenced the nurse’s physical/emotional exhaustion, safety concerns, and workload to develop quality improvement strategies and innovation to promote nurse retention. The study will build on the literature about the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare, enabling healthcare institutions to deal with retention issues and be more prepared for similar pandemics in the future. Specifically, the research will help the healthcare industry to develop better strategies for managing nurses’ retention in the face of major pandemics. Identifying the COVID-19 impacts on retention will enable healthcare institutions to understand how future pandemics will likely affect nurses, which is essential in boosting quality care and promoting a reasonable nurse retention rate. A better nurse retention rate requires healthcare institutions to implement strategies that reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction. Such methods and practices include attractive compensation and a safe work environment, which are essential in making employees satisfied and willing to continue providing their valuable skills to their organisations. That lowers the chances of nurses seeking better opportunities in other companies. Healthcare institutions should create a supportive and safe work environment for their nurses to promote nurse retention. Offering nurses a safe work environment is an excellent strategy to keep employees working even during disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, it would be essential to motivate the team of nurses to work hard amidst the pandemic, knowing that their work environment is safe for their health and supportive of their roles. On the other hand, a healthcare institution that fails to offer safety will contribute to high turnover as nurses seek safe working environments. Third, healthcare institutions should resort to providing an excellent work-life balance for their nurses. A balanced work-life is an essential aspect of promoting nurse retention. It offers nurses flexible scheduling options that enable them to be more productive, making them feel comfortable with their roles during a pandemic like COVID-19. Paying their salaries on time will encourage them to continue working with minimal chances of quitting or seeking better employment opportunities.