EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE NURSES TURNOVER AT LEBANESE HOSPITALS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The research studies the aspect of nurses’ turnover. It aims to explore the major reasons that are leading to high and dysfunctional nurses’ turnover rates, its direct financial costs, its non-financial costs, and the solutions that hospitals can adapt to decrease it. The research also examines the previously listed aspects in the Lebanese context and demonstrates how Lebanese hospitals modified their HR practices in order to reach the best systematic process to diminish dysfunctional nurses’ turnover. This exploratory research contributes to knowledge in several ways. It creates a holistic understanding to the main reasons of the mismatch between, the supply and demand of nurses in Lebanon. It identifies the sourcing, recruiting, training, and retaining processes that Lebanese hospitals conducted to decrease nurses’ turnover as well as identifying the ideal HR practices to be used. It also seeks to prove that it is impossible to diminish nurses’ turnover and clarifies the healthy rates of this turnover that help boost the organization performance. The research proves that Healthy percentages of turnover have positive impact on the organization’s performance; it helps in having regular flow of new ideas and experiences. This is achieved through hiring new people with new ideas who can contribute to creating a proactive company with a consistent development. However, turnover levels should be controlled and hospitals should seek to reach the ideal way to control and reduce high and inefficient turnover in the nursing field. The results of this research can be used in Lebanese hospitals in order to aid them in decreasing their nurses’ turnover rates. Keywords Retention, turnover, nurses, hospitals, HR practices, Lebanon.