Wednesday, July 22, 2015

"Good Help is Hard to Find"

"Good help is hard to find". How many times have we heard that one? It is actually not that good help is hard time, but often is hard to keep. There have been many articles, books and seminars on staff retention, and there are some great ideas that can be obtained. However, it all comes down to staff appreciation.

At NTTS, we make very effort to show our nurses that we care about them as an individual, not that they just have a nursing license. Speaking from personal experience, many nurses feel that is all their employer cares about, and if they died tomorrow, they would not be missed. They would simply move on to the next warm body.Organizations often will pay top dollar and offer great benefits to their nurses, only to find they leave their positions within a couple of years, leaving the employer scrambling to figure out whey the nurses they hire don't stay. Sometimes, it is as simple as figuring out the nurses feel under appreciated. 

We show our staff that we are the exception. We make every effort to work with our nurses to provide them with a schedule that works for them. We have quarterly peer recognition awards for the one nurse who has the most nominations for being exceptional, in addition to recognizing birthdays monthly and bonuses for filling in on short notice and working extra when busy. Nurse's Week is never forgotten. We try to chose a practical personalized gift for our nurses to show our appreciation for their efforts, and sometimes....just a simple "Thank you" goes a long way.

Our nurses treat each other like family. They have been known to donate to a chronically ill nurse who could not work, visit each other when sick, and send flowers. Many of ours nurses have developed life long friendships even though they don't see each other day to day.

Yes, we occasionally do have turn-over, but many of our nurses have been here five years or longer. Our nurses take ownership in their position and in the company, and in return, the physicians we serve appreciate the quality of care their patients are receiving after hours. At NTTS, we recognize our nurses make our company exceptional. It is a winning relationship for all involved.