Abstract

Session presented on Saturday, November 7, 2015 and Sunday, November 8, 2015:

Introduction: Nurse staffing is a challenge. Float pools have been used effectively to staff units with hospital employees. Experienced nurses have almost solely made up the float pool workforce until now.

Purpose/Objects: To improve staffing resources through the implementation of a New Graduate Nurse Float Pool (NGNFP) and provide new grads a means of employment in a competitive market predominately hiring experienced nurses.

Methods: Implemented in 2013, nurses apply to the NGNFP and interview with nurse managers and the Residency Coordinator. They are oriented to the six adult units they will be working. They spend four weeks on a medical/surgical unit and one week on each of the remaining units for a total of 12 weeks in addition to participating in a yearlong RN Residency program.

Results: Of the original six NGNFP nurses, three have taken permanent positions and three remain in the float pool. An additional 19 nurses have been hired into the float pool and an Assistant Clinical Manager has been added to focus on its daily operations. Twenty more nurses will be hired in first quarter, 2015.

Discussion: As a result of the NGNFP, on-boarding and orientation to the units has been enhanced by developing unit specific orientation binders, mentoring by NGNFP nurses, streamlined reporting processes and regular NGNFP staff meetings with the off-shift supervisor.

Implications for Practice: The NGNFP has the potential to change how nurses are hired and is a win-win for the organization and nurse. To further evaluate the NGNFP nurse's satisfaction, stress, organization/prioritization, communication and support, the Casey-Fink survey is being implemented.

Description

43rd Biennial Convention 2015 Theme: Serve Locally, Transform Regionally, Lead Globally.

Author Details

Kristen Jean Brown, RN, CPN

Sigma Membership

Epsilon Upsilon

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

New Graduates, Float Pool, Nurse Staffing

Conference Name

43rd Biennial Convention

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Conference Year

2015

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Innovation in action: How to design a new graduate float pool

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Session presented on Saturday, November 7, 2015 and Sunday, November 8, 2015:

Introduction: Nurse staffing is a challenge. Float pools have been used effectively to staff units with hospital employees. Experienced nurses have almost solely made up the float pool workforce until now.

Purpose/Objects: To improve staffing resources through the implementation of a New Graduate Nurse Float Pool (NGNFP) and provide new grads a means of employment in a competitive market predominately hiring experienced nurses.

Methods: Implemented in 2013, nurses apply to the NGNFP and interview with nurse managers and the Residency Coordinator. They are oriented to the six adult units they will be working. They spend four weeks on a medical/surgical unit and one week on each of the remaining units for a total of 12 weeks in addition to participating in a yearlong RN Residency program.

Results: Of the original six NGNFP nurses, three have taken permanent positions and three remain in the float pool. An additional 19 nurses have been hired into the float pool and an Assistant Clinical Manager has been added to focus on its daily operations. Twenty more nurses will be hired in first quarter, 2015.

Discussion: As a result of the NGNFP, on-boarding and orientation to the units has been enhanced by developing unit specific orientation binders, mentoring by NGNFP nurses, streamlined reporting processes and regular NGNFP staff meetings with the off-shift supervisor.

Implications for Practice: The NGNFP has the potential to change how nurses are hired and is a win-win for the organization and nurse. To further evaluate the NGNFP nurse's satisfaction, stress, organization/prioritization, communication and support, the Casey-Fink survey is being implemented.