Strategies to Promote Nursing Retention Among Millennials

The effect of registered nurse (RN) turnover causes a profound increase in costs to healthcare facilities’ which triggers an essential need for strategies to promote RN retention. In 2021, the nurse labor force shortage has continued to increase with 37.4% of hospitals feeling the squeeze [1]. Healthcare facilities are experiencing an increase in RN position vacancy rates due to the pandemic. The national hospital turnover rate is currently 19.5% and a third of hospitals in the United States are reporting a vacancy rate of greater than 10% [1]. The RN Recruitment Difficulty Index remains elevated at the level of an 89-day period to hire an experienced RN. This finding is evidence that the RN shortage will persist, and RN recruitment will continue to be a challenge for hospitals. Millennials currently represent one quarter of today’s population and will represent 75% of the workforce by the year 2030. A millennial is defined as a person born between the years 1981 and 1996 with a current age of 25 to 40 years old [1]. Promoting retention strategies for this cohort will be paramount for hospital administration to ensure safe and effective healthcare to hospitalized patients in future years.