Retention technique #3. Research: future impact on image and retention

The recruitment, retention, utilization, and image of nursing are critical issues facing nurses today. Critical care nursing research will assist us in dealing with these problems to prepare for a twenty-first century in which nursing is a valued profession. This author takes an optimistic view of the future and explains how she believes nursing research will help solve these recruitment and retention problems.

Permanent visual display exhibits. A supplementary instructional technique in critical care education

The discipline of critical care is being challenged to provide ongoing education to the various groups of critical care health providers. Traditional modalities of instruction may not suffice as unique circumstances exist in the practice and daily delivery of patient care. These unique circumstances include a never-ending introduction of new devices, tubes, and catheters into practice. In addition, the intensive care setting features a wide variability of work experience, a high turnover rate of personnel, variable cognitive approaches to understanding technical devices, and a stressful workplace. In their surgical intensive care unit, the authors have developed a set of permanent visual display exhibits. These exhibits were designed to specifically address the above problems and serve as a supplementary mode of education for our diverse medical, nursing, and technical staff. The exhibits may provide an example for other intensive care units and educators.

Retention technique #1. Developing managerial warmth

A manager who has interpersonal warmth is not simply gullible or naive, but instead possesses a valuable skill in reaching others. In most manager-employee relationships, some degree of limit-setting and judgment are necessary; however, warmth integrated with limit-setting is more satisfying for both employee and manager. Although warmth as an interpersonal phenomenon is affected by the employee's perception, certain managerial actions can increase the likelihood of being perceived as warm; yet, in spite of careful adherence to the guidelines for communicating warmth, managerial warmth will still be rejected in some situations. As is true of any managerial technique, the effective use of warmth requires an assessment of the employee's personality and the approach most appropriate for the situation at hand. The excellent manager is able to quickly adapt, matching the level of warmth to the situation. See Nurse Manager Retention Factors for viewpoints from nurses themselves. Interpersonal management style is an important retention factor.

Retention technique #2. Closing critical care beds

The key to nursing retention is to be sensitive to the pressures and demands placed on staff nurses who want to provide and take pride in giving quality patient care. If an institution has many critical care nursing vacancies, it is important to avoid pushing the remaining nurses beyond human limits. It may even be necessary to close beds to keep the remaining nurses, rather than allow the stress of the nursing shortage to cause them to resign too.

Pain in the nonverbal patient: advocating for the critically ill neonate

Relief of suffering is a major goal of nursing care. Nurses caring for nonverbal patients must develop specialized skills needed to assess pain and communicate their assessments to other nurses, physicians, and parents. Through collaborative efforts, pain relief for these patients can be achieved.

Retention technique #5. Teaching opportunities: retention of the experienced critical care nurse

Continued career development is an important goal for critical care nurses. Assisting clinical nurses to develop strong teaching skills can promote their career advancement and self-confidence, while increasing retention of these experienced professionals. If you are an experienced nurse interested in developing teaching skills, this article will help you to begin. If you are a manager, educator, or a clinical nurse specialist, the author suggests ideas for helping your expert colleagues develop these abilities.

Retention technique #4. Developing retention strategies within your internship program

Internship programs are a well-established method of recruiting and preparing nurses for practice in critical care. This author describes how to incorporate strategies into a program that may enhance the retention of the nurse, following the internship program.