Nurse Residency Program Targeting to Save Millions in Hiring and Retention Costs for US Healthcare Systems

Dignity Health Global Education (DHGE), a leading workforce development solutions provider that exclusively enables healthcare systems and organizations to upskill and retain top talents, today announced a new Nurse Residency program available across 21 U.S. states, developed in partnership with CommonSpirit Health (CSH), to standardize excellence, deliver and measure evidence-based clinical practices, and provide a scaled foundation for new nurses transitioning into practice.

Nurses are a crucial part of the healthcare industry, comprising the largest group of healthcare professionals. Yet the current state of the nursing workforce is critical. According to the 2022 NSI National Healthcare Retention Report, there is a 17% RN vacancy rate, while the turnover rate for first-year nurses is 31.7%.¹ The turnover cost for a single staff RN has been increasing each year — with an average of $52,250 USD in 2022, compared to $46,100 USD in 2021.²

According to the 2023 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, each RN turnover percent change can cost or save the average hospital $380,600 USD per year.² In 2022, to recruit an experienced RN it took at least 2 to 4 months; the RN Recruitment Difficult Index ranges from 61 to 120 days.² These challenges have major implications for healthcare systems' efficiencies, revenue, and staffing practices

To address this issue, DHGE has designed an innovative Nurse Residency program, developed in partnership with CSH nurse educators led by Connie Clemmons Brown, DNP, RN, system SVP, Patient Care Services, to accommodate health organizations in transitioning nurses to practice. DHGE's centralized platform provides a complete technology infrastructure that is easy to scale and can be tailored to each organization's unique needs.

This 12-month Nurse Residency program, delivering at scale across 21 different states, is a cost-effective solution for organizations that are looking to improve their nurse retention, increase role satisfaction and well-being of their nursing workforce, and decrease new nurse attrition rates. With DHGE's support system and high-quality training, employers can ensure nurses' satisfaction with their job and empower them to make positive outcomes for both healthcare organizations and their patients.

DHGE's 12-month Nurse Residency program aims to increase RN retention targeting 20% or higher, saving millions in hiring and retention costs for US healthcare systems

DHGE's Nurse Residency, training both preceptors and residents, aims to increase nurse retention rates and save costs for healthcare organizations. Through a clear developmental pathway built upon digital badges, residents get an evidence-based education that boosts their skills. Participating healthcare organizations will get full support from the DHGE's highly-trained program support specialists, instructional designers, and technologists who will provide a tailored step-by-step implementation. Decision makers will be able to predict retention rates and measure the true effectiveness of the program through our reporting, deep insights, and real-time data.

"In 2021, average costs associated with RN turnover were $3.6M to $6.5M USD³," said Kathy Sanford, CNO, CommonSpirit Health. "This has a huge implication for a hospital's profit margins and calls for solutions that can fundamentally address nurses' satisfaction. With DHGE's high-quality Nurse Residency program, hospitals can equip their nursing workforce with evidence-based clinical practices to face everyday situations, thus helping to increase nurses' satisfaction. Our goal with this program is to increase RN retention at CSH by 20% or higher, delivering tremendous savings in hiring and retention costs for our healthcare system."

"The healthcare industry at-large is profoundly aware of the current critical state of the nursing workforce," said Kurt Hayes, Chief Product Officer, DHGE. "We all need to do whatever we can to help alleviate the severe shortages, including improving retention, while helping nurses stay competent and confident in their roles. DHGE is proud to offer this innovative Nurse Residency program which aims to make a significant impact in nurse retention while simultaneously lowering hiring and retention costs for system partners, saving hospitals millions of dollars, which will ultimately result in better patient outcomes."

For additional information on DHGE or the Nurse Residency program, please visit https://dhge.org.

About Dignity Health Global Education

Great Solutions, Great Healthcare
Dignity Health Global Education (DHGE) is a workforce development platform that enables healthcare systems and organizations to upskill and retain top talents. Dedicated to providing the best client experience, we develop custom online and hybrid programs and workforce development solutions that improve and positively impact talent retention as much as patient health and quality of care. We remain leaders in the healthcare education space by creating cutting-edge solutions through innovative technologies, clinical expertise, and evidence-based training alongside the industry's top subject matter experts. To learn more about DHGE please visit www.dhge.org.

References:

1. Retaining novice nurses. American Nurse. https://www.myamericannurse.com/retaining-novice-nurses/#:~:text=The%20Nursing%20Solutions%20Inc.%202022%20NSI%20National%20Health,they%20have%20about%203%20years%20of%20clinical%20practice Accessed on April 14, 2023.
2. The cost of nurse turnover in 24 numbers. Berkshire Hospital Review. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/the-cost-of-nurse-turnover-in-24-numbers-2023.html?utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter Accessed on April 14, 2023.
3. 2021 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. NSI Nursing Solutions. https://www.emergingrnleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf. Accessed April 14, 2023.

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