Abstract

High nurse turnover is an international concern that exacerbates the nursing shortage, and this shortage impacts patient outcomes, quality of care, patient satisfaction with care and job satisfaction for employees (Bae, 2023; Winter et al., 2020). According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistic (2023), 193,100 openings for Registered Nurses (RN) are expected each year, over the next decade. In 2023, the national turnover rate for hospital-based nurses was 22.5%, and the RN vacancy rate was 15.7% (NSI Nursing Solutions Inc., 2023). Even more alarming is the suggestion that first year registered nurse turnover within hospitals, far exceed all other tenure categories (NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc., 2023). According to NSI Nursing Solutions Inc. (2023), 32.8% of nurses who left their hospital-based organization, did so within one year. A study in South Korea, suggests similar findings with additional information stating that 20.1% of newly hired nurses left their position within six months, compared to 6.3% who left between seven and twelve months (Kim & Kim, 2021). Retention is an organization’s ability to maintain staff employment within the organization. Retention of new graduate nurses in practice is imperative to reduce the gap between experienced nurses leaving the profession and hospitals’ ability to provide safe and effective patient care.

The purpose of this project is to review retention outcomes for new graduate nurses who participate in an interventional peer coaching program within an acute care organization. Coaching improves clinical performance, well-being, peer-relationships, collaboration, engagement, career development and socialization (Costeira et al., 2022; DeGrazia et al., 2021; Wagoner-Duncan & Tinsley, 2023). Coaching also fosters communication and encourages knowledge sharing between coach and participants (Costeira et al., 2022; DeGrazia et al., 2021; Richardson et al., 2023; Rosen et al., 2022). Chahbounia and Gantare’s (2023) study suggests that a coaching program can reduce stress and burnout in nurses. Investigators suggest that coaching increases use of organizational resources and connectedness which in turn improves self-care practices, stress management and retention for both coach and the nurse receiving coaching (Chahbounia & Gantare, 2023; Costeira et al., 2022; Rosen et al., 2022). Coaching and mentoring are identified within the literature, as having high potential to reduce new graduate nurse turnover.

Notes

References: 1. Bae, S.H. (2023). Comprehensive assessment of factors contributing to the actual turnover of newly licensed registered nurses working in acute care hospitals: A systematic review. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01190-3

2. Chahbounia, R., & Gantare, A. (2023). Managing occupational health issues through coaching, emerging perspectives from emergency and intensive care nurses: A mixed-method study. Nursing Reports, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13030094

3. Costeira, C., Dixe, M. A., Querido, A., Vitorino, J., & Laranjeira, C. (2022). Coaching as a model for facilitating the performance, learning, and development of palliative care nurses. Mental Health in Palliative Care Nursing, 8, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608221113864

4. DeGrazia, M., Porter, C., Sheehan, A., Whitamore, S., White, D., Winter Nuttall, P., Blanchard, T., Davis, N., Steadman, J., Hickey, P. (2021). Building moral resiliency through the nurse education and support team initiative. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. 30(2) 95-102. https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2021534

5. Kim, Y., & Kim, H.-Y. (2021). Retention rates and the associated risk factors of turnover among newly hired nurses at south Korean hospitals: A retrospective cohort study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910013

6. NSI Nursing Solutions Inc. (2024, February 5). NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf

7. Richardson, C., Wicking, K., Biedermann, N., & Langtree, T. (2023). Coaching in nursing: An integrative literature review. Nursing Open, 10, 6635-6649. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1925

8. Ropponen, P., Kamau, S., Koskenranta, M., Kuivila, H., Oikarainen, A., Isakov, T., Tomietto, M., & Mikkonen, K. (2023). Culturally and linguistically diverse nursing students’ experiences of integration into the working environment: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 120, 105654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105654

9. Rosen, B., Preisman, M., Read, H., Chaukos, D., Greenberg, R. A., Jefs, L., Maunder, R. & Wiesenfeld, L. (2022). Providers’ perspectives on implementing resilience coaching for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Health Services Research. 22(280). 1-10. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-022-08131-x

10. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September 5). Job outlook. Registered Nurses: Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)

11. Wagoner-Duncan, T. & Tinsley, A. (2023). Nursing Career Coach: The Difference. www.nurseleader.com. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.07.001

Description

Retention of new graduate nurses in practice is imperative to reduce the gap between experienced nurses leaving the profession and hospitals’ ability to provide safe and effective patient care. The current national nursing shortage impacts patient outcomes, quality of care, and job satisfaction. This project discusses an interventional program in which new graduate nurses participate in peer coaching to improve nurse retention rates within an acute care organization.

Author Details

Jennifer Marie Carpenter, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CPN; Susan J. Owens, PhD, RN, FNP-BC; Khristina Grimm, PhD, RN, NPDA-BC

Sigma Membership

Kappa Epsilon at-Large

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Quasi-Experimental Study, Other

Research Approach

Quantitative Research

Keywords:

Acute Care, New Graduate Nurses, Turnover, Mentoring and Coaching

Conference Name

48th Biennial Convention

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Conference Year

2025

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2025-11-18

Click on the above link to access the poster.

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Peer-to-Peer Transitional Coaching Program

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

High nurse turnover is an international concern that exacerbates the nursing shortage, and this shortage impacts patient outcomes, quality of care, patient satisfaction with care and job satisfaction for employees (Bae, 2023; Winter et al., 2020). According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistic (2023), 193,100 openings for Registered Nurses (RN) are expected each year, over the next decade. In 2023, the national turnover rate for hospital-based nurses was 22.5%, and the RN vacancy rate was 15.7% (NSI Nursing Solutions Inc., 2023). Even more alarming is the suggestion that first year registered nurse turnover within hospitals, far exceed all other tenure categories (NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc., 2023). According to NSI Nursing Solutions Inc. (2023), 32.8% of nurses who left their hospital-based organization, did so within one year. A study in South Korea, suggests similar findings with additional information stating that 20.1% of newly hired nurses left their position within six months, compared to 6.3% who left between seven and twelve months (Kim & Kim, 2021). Retention is an organization’s ability to maintain staff employment within the organization. Retention of new graduate nurses in practice is imperative to reduce the gap between experienced nurses leaving the profession and hospitals’ ability to provide safe and effective patient care.

The purpose of this project is to review retention outcomes for new graduate nurses who participate in an interventional peer coaching program within an acute care organization. Coaching improves clinical performance, well-being, peer-relationships, collaboration, engagement, career development and socialization (Costeira et al., 2022; DeGrazia et al., 2021; Wagoner-Duncan & Tinsley, 2023). Coaching also fosters communication and encourages knowledge sharing between coach and participants (Costeira et al., 2022; DeGrazia et al., 2021; Richardson et al., 2023; Rosen et al., 2022). Chahbounia and Gantare’s (2023) study suggests that a coaching program can reduce stress and burnout in nurses. Investigators suggest that coaching increases use of organizational resources and connectedness which in turn improves self-care practices, stress management and retention for both coach and the nurse receiving coaching (Chahbounia & Gantare, 2023; Costeira et al., 2022; Rosen et al., 2022). Coaching and mentoring are identified within the literature, as having high potential to reduce new graduate nurse turnover.