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The first year: employment patterns and job perceptions of nursing assistants in a rural setting
Author(s) -
MEYER DEBORAH,
RAFFLE HOLLY,
WARE LEZLEE J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2012.01441.x
Subject(s) - nursing , certification , nursing assistant , nursing management , long term care , employee retention , turnover , perception , medicine , psychology , business , nursing homes , marketing , political science , management , neuroscience , economics , law
Meyer D., Raffle H. & Ware L.J. (2014) Journal of Nursing Management 22 , 769–778 The first year: employment patterns and job perceptions of nursing assistants in a rural setting Aim The aim of this study was to follow rural certified nursing assistants (CNAs) ( n = 123) in the United States for 1 year post‐training to identify retention and turnover issues in the long‐term care (LTC) setting by exploring the CNAs’ perceptions of the LTC work experience. Background Turnover among CNAs impacts the quality of care, imposes a financial burden on facilities and taxpayers, and creates increased stress and workloads on those who remain. Method A longitudinal survey design was used to track individuals completing CNA training for 1 year. Results At 1 year post‐training, 53.7% of respondents currently worked in LTC, 30.9% worked in LTC and left, and the remaining 15.4% never worked in LTC. Conclusion While the training site does not appear to impact retention, the first 6 months of employment appear critical. The CNAs cited pay as a reason for leaving LTC, but better pay did not characterize the jobs taken by the CNAs who left. Implications for nursing management This study highlights the importance of the first 6 months of employment to retention and provides practical information for nurse managers evaluating the resource‐effectiveness of hosting training programmes. Additionally, the key issues influencing retention were identified and practical suggestions for nurse managers to improve retention are provided.