Predictive Hiring to Maintain Excellence in Patient Care.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research study was to design and pilot a predictive hiring model to improve the hospital's operational vacancy rate and reduce premium pay expenses. BACKGROUND: According to Purcell, the average nursing turnover rate is at 18.2%, and the new-graduate nurse turnover rate is higher at 35%. With turnover rates high for nurses, the importance of recruiting, hiring, and training the new nurse needs to be completed as soon as possible. Often, a nurse manager cannot interview and hire into a position until it is vacated. Premium pay including overtime is typically used to cover the time from the position being vacated until the next nurse is trained. METHODS: This was a pretest/posttest design with a predictive hiring model intervention. The intervention was a 3-pronged approach that consisted of a strategy for recruiting graduate nurses, hiring to operation vacancy rates, and utilizing a predictive hiring method. Operational vacancy is a calculation to determine if a department has the right amount of hired labor available to work scheduled shifts without having to routinely rely on agency nurses and/or premium pay. These are people ready to work. RESULTS: The hospital significantly decreased premium pay and eliminated the use of agency nurses by implementing a predictive hiring model tailored to the department's operational vacancy. CONCLUSIONS: A predictive model is a useful vehicle in assisting nurse managers to plan and replace positions more quickly. The model needs continued testing to support application beyond the testing site.

Evidence-Based Practice Guideline: Changing the Practice of Physical Restraint Use in Acute Care.

Physical restraints continue to be used in acute care settings, despite the challenges and calls to reduce this practice. The current guideline on restraint use is updated with evidence that includes critical care settings and issues related to restraint use in acute care units. Nurses play a significant role in the use of restraints. Factors such as nurse's knowledge and patient characteristics combined with the culture and resources in health care facilities influence the practice of physical restraint use. Nurses can identify patients at high risk for restraint use; assess the potential causes of unsafe behaviors; and target interventions in the areas of physiological, psychological, and environmental approaches to address those unsafe behaviors. Members of the interdisciplinary team can provide additional consultation, and institutions can provide resources and education and implement monitoring processes and quality improvement practices to help reduce the practice of physical restraint use. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 42(2), 17-26.].