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New graduate separations from New Zealand's nursing workforce in the first 5 years after registration: a retrospective cohort analysis of a national administrative data set 2005–2010
Author(s) -
North Nicola,
Leung William,
Lee Rochelle
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1111/jan.12339
Subject(s) - workforce , graduation (instrument) , cohort , medicine , retrospective cohort study , nursing , family medicine , political science , surgery , geometry , mathematics , law
Aim To describe workforce separation rates and its relationship with demographic and work characteristics in the 2005 new graduate cohort's first 5 years as practising RNs in NZ. Background Retaining new graduate RNs is critical to nursing workforce sustainability; one study showed that if an RN is still employed in a hospital setting 5 years after graduation, he/she tends to remain active in the health industry. Design Retrospective analysis using the Nursing Council of New Zealand's registration data set for years 2005–2010. Methods All newly registered NZ graduates practising in NZ in 2005 ( n = 1236) were tracked for 5 years. Results Within 5 years of graduation, 26% of the cohort had separated from the NZ nursing workforce, 18% in the first year. The under‐25s ( n = 517), 42% of the cohort, had the highest loss, 32%, in 5 years. Separations were significantly lower for graduates in their 30s vs. their 20s and for those who gained postgraduate tertiary qualifications post‐registration (10%) vs. those who did not (29%). Hospitals were the most frequent employment setting over 5 years, the largest increase being community settings. Five‐year retention rates in the four largest practice areas were surgical 26%, medical 16%, mental health 60% and continuing care 10%. After 5 years, 24% of those still practising ( n = 920) worked in a different health board region. Conclusions New graduate RN losses were higher than in previous research, with younger RNs at most risk, threatening future sustainability of the nursing workforce and highlighting the need for evidence‐based targeted strategies to retain them.