Retention of Experienced Nurses: A Phenomenological Approach to Understanding Workplace Challenges

The attrition of experienced registered nurses from bedside nursing represents a growing concern in the healthcare industry and compounds a national and global nursing shortage. Experienced nurses possess valuable assessment, communication, and critical thinking skills associated with improved patient outcomes. The problem is experienced registered nurses retiring before the age of retirement eligibility. The gap in the literature provided an opportunity for a descriptive, phenomenological qualitative study to explore the lived experiences of experienced nurses to determine which factors influence nurses’ decision to retire early. Constructs of the conceptual framework were identified using the Nursing Services Delivery Theory’s open system approach. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of experienced nurses working in hospitals in Virginia to determine factors influencing the nurse’s decision to retire before the retirement eligibility age. Participants included 16 registered nurses over the age of 45 years, with at least 20 years of experience in bedside nursing and working at any hospital in Virginia. Data collection included recorded semi-structured interviews and the investigator’s electronic journal of notes. A thematic analysis of the transcribed narratives using Colaizzi’s seven-step method of inductive reduction revealed seven emergent themes supported by current literature, including a passion for nursing, self-efficacy, rewards, and recognition, generational diversity, physical decline, technology fatigue, intention to leave. A subtheme of moral distress adds to the body of nursing research and warrants future research. The findings and conclusions of the study are included in an organized written presentation

Health Education via Social Media to Increase Vaccination Rates

This study outlines healthcare’s use of social media to promote vaccination.. The question that can be asked from this is, “Can healthcare professionals utilize social media to increase vaccination rates against non-required vaccinations?” My hypothesis is that if healthcare professionals or organizations utilize social media properly and target the correct groups on social media, the promotion of non-required vaccines will see an increase in numbers. Vaccines are created to promote immunity to illnesses that otherwise could cause severe illness. Vaccines such as the seasonal flu vaccine, HPV vaccine, hepatits B, and others are optional, and in many cases, have a lower rate of acceptance. Social media in the last decade has had a large increase in use, and if healthcare can use these mediums as a way to influence the general public to increase vaccinations, maybe the incidence of disease and illness will decrease. If social media is to be properly used by health organizations and professionals to increase acceptance rates of vaccines, making posts and information available based on the social media site or network, the group of users of each social site, and how to target each of these factors efficiently can lead to higher public knowledge and approval