The Impact of Nurse Manager Work Load Issues on Retention

Registered Nurse (RN) retention is critical for hospitals to survive nursing shortages, avoid costly turnover, and maintain quality care. Researchers have established that nurse managers significantly influence staff RN retention. However, researchers question the nurse managers\u27 ability to focus on retention efforts while balancing their extensive responsibilities and large number of direct reports. This project evaluates the initiative to provide nurse managers with increased administrative and operational support to provide nurse managers with the bandwidth they need to improve retention. While project findings revealed improvement in how staff perceived nurse manager ability, leadership, and support, and staff\u27s ability to provide superior patient care, data showed a decline in intent to stay indicating lower retention