What Nurses Want

It ain’t rocket science—figuring out what makes nurses happy.

There have been surveys ad infinitum and some studies, but many employers still don’t seem to get it. (All they have to do is ask.) I still hear how unhappy many nurses are with their employment situations. Their gripes include lousy scheduling, no input on decisions, inadequate staffing, mandatory overtime and too much paperwork, among other things.

I rarely hear complaints about pay, except by nursing instructors and educators.

There are some nurses who praise their employers and seem ecstatic with their job situations. They are the ones who work at Planetree hospitals. The Planetree philosophy is that care is patient-centered and holistic, and in implementing the measures that meet this creed, the nurses get a good deal, too.

Administrations at these hospitals ask their nurses what they need to make work easier and more effective. They provide perks like free and/or inexpensive massages. Planetree nurses also attend occasional on- and off-campus conferences where they brainstorm and meet other employees. Some Planetree hospitals even have volunteers regularly baking cookies for patients, their families and staff.

You know there’s something good about the Planetree philosophy because staff turnover in many of these hospitals runs at 2 percent to 3 percent.

A recent study done by nurse-researchers at the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno, found that nurses leave the bedside because of stress and burnout caused by the physical demands, inadequate staffing and inconvenient scheduling.

Many former bedside nurses have found work in both health-related and non-health related areas. According to a story that appeared on www.nursezone.com, the study found that nurses who work outside of nursing cited these reasons: needed a change of career (65.8 percent); experienced burnout/stressful work environment (41.3 percent); had scheduling challenges or were working too many hours (38.7 percent); there is better pay in non-nursing employment (31.4 percent); there was inadequate staffing (30.8 percent); and the physical demands were high (25.8 percent).

In a perfect work world, what do you need or want at your workplace?

Do you feel your employer is responsive to your needs?

Would you recommend your place of work to a job-seeker?

What ideas do you have for making the workplace better?