breakup note at 8:08 p.m. of what turned out to be her last day with us:
I apologize for doing this via email. I was offered a position at another
company that's more in line with my goals, and I've accepted. Their train-
ing class starts tomorrow so today was my last day. Good luck and thank
you.
Inspired by this incredible experience and concerned over our suddenly
sinking retention rate, I wondered which was the most challenging element
of staffing: recruiting, training or retaining. Given the game of musical chairs
we've been playing in the adjoining cubicles by the printers of late, I'd say
retaining was the hardest. But when we polled more than 300 of our readers
last month, 40% said recruiting was the toughest, while 13% went with retain-
ing and only 9% chose training. Those numbers don't add up to 100 because
38% took the easy way out by selecting "all of the above."
Ms. Gilmore's article details her hospital's nursing intern program that takes
newly minted RNs who had limited exposure to the OR in nursing school
and trains them in the ways of the operating room and of the hospital during
a 6- to 7-month long didactic and hands-on competency program. When they
complete their internship, the trained nurses are confident and comfortable
in scrubs. They're also loyal and committed to the people and the place that
trained them.
Of the 21 nurses who completed their internships and became staff circula-
tors, Ms. Gilmore says 9, including herself, have stayed in the surgical
department for at least 12 months.
"Many might not have considered OR nursing as a career choice without
the specialty training we provided," she writes.
Maybe we should start a Medical Trade Publishing Internship for all new
editorial hires here at the magazine. At the very least, they might stick around
for more than a week.
OSM
Editor's Page
EP
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