Addressing the challenges of early career rural nursing to improve job satisfaction and retention: Strategies new nurses think would help.

Abstract

To (a) explore the experiences of early career registered nurses in rural hospitals in Australia and (b) identify strategies they believe would help increase job satisfaction and retention. Qualitative descriptive design. Thirteen registered nurses located in outer regional, remote or very remote (herein 'rural') Australian hospitals participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants had graduated from a Bachelor of Nursing program in 2018-2020. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and an essentialist, bottom-up approach. Seven themes related to the experiences of rural early career nursing: (1) appreciate diverse scope of practice; (2) rewarding sense of community and opportunity to give back; (3) staff support determines the quality of experience; (4) feeling underprepared and the need for ongoing education; (5) diverse views on the optimal length of rotation and level of input into choice of clinical area; (6) difficulty maintaining work/life balance due to work hours and rostering; and (7) lack of staff and resources. Strategies to improve nurses' experiences included: (1) assistance with accommodation and transport; (2) social gatherings to enhance connection; (3) sufficient orientation and supernumerary time; (4) increased frequency of contact with clinical facilitators and multiple mentors; (5) prioritizing clinical education across diverse topics; (6) greater involvement in choice of rotations and clinical areas; and (7) desire for more flexible work hours and rostering. This study highlighted the experiences of rural nurses and explored their suggestions for how to overcome challenges in their roles. Greater consideration of early career registered nurses' needs and preferences is vital to improving and maintaining a satisfied, dedicated and sustainable rural nursing workforce. Many of the strategies for improving job retention identified by nurses in this study could be actioned at a local level, with little financial or time investment. No Patient or Public Contribution.