Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Military Nursing Care and Nurse Retention
Nursing Workforce Stability in Military Hospitals
George A. Zangaro, PhD, RN, TRISERVICE Nursing Research Program, United States Navy, Bethesda, MD, USA
Introduction:  With an escalating national nursing shortage, it is imperative that the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps examine their nursing workforce needs and consider strategies to retain personnel.  The Navy is an organization well prepared in the rapid mobilization and deployment of large volumes of military personnel, equipment and supplies.  Operational readiness will be affected if Nurse Corps officers are not retained.  Civilian nurses are the backfill for deployed military nurses.  During peacetime and wartime deployments, civil service nurses are relied upon to continue care at military hospitals.  Recruiting and retaining both groups of nurses is critical to ensure safe, effective patient care is provided to our patients. 

Methodology:  A descriptive correlational survey design was used.  Data were collected from a convenience sample of 1173 nurses from three military hospitals on the U.S. east coast. 

Results:  The sample consisted of 496 nurses.  The mean age for military nurses was 32.7 years and civilian nurses was 47.8 years.  Military nurses were less satisfied with their jobs as compared to civilian nurses.  SEM analysis was conducted using a separate model for military and civilian nurses.  The differences between the two models (ΔX2 =54.68; df=27) was statistically significant (p<.01) indicating that at least some of the relationships differ for military and civilian nurses.  Military nurses had greater intentions to quit than civilian nurses.

Conclusions:  1) Factors affecting the satisfaction and retention of both military and civil service nurse are different for each group.  2) Retention of existing nurses is extremely important as hospitals compete for the shrinking pool of registered nurses.  3) Nurse managers are challenged with creating a work environment that will accommodate the diverse needs of both military and civilian nurses and at the same time balance these needs with the needs of the organization. 

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