Abstract
Nearly 100,000 nursing positions in long-term care (LTC) are vacant on any given day, and the nurse turnover rate exceeds 50%. In addition, recruitment of and orientation programs for new nurses are costly for facilities. Preceptor programs have been successful in recruitment and retention of acute care nurses, but no recent literature addresses preceptor programs in LTC. The Expanding the Teaching-Nursing Home Culture in the State of Illinois project explored the development of a preceptor program to fit the LTC environment in which an RN was chosen to serve as the preceptor and mentor and orient all new nurses. Although the LTC environment presents social and economic challenges, a structured preceptor program allows nurses new to LTC to meet these challenges. By retaining nurses, residents receive continuity of care. This strategy for recruitment and retention of nurses results in professional growth, competent and stable staff, and a stronger bottom line.
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