Dennis Sherrod, on recruitment and retention

By Bree LeMaire, MS, RN
December 22, 2003

How did you get into nursing? Recruitment?

There's never been a day I've regretted going into nursing. When I was in high school, I always thought of med school. Upon graduation, I realized how expensive it was and someone said it was a good idea to become a nurse anesthetist, but to get my BS in nursing first. Money was also available for nursing school. In the spring of my senior year, Dean Sue Hunter asked me to return as a teaching clinical assistant. I did that for 11 years and during that time got my MSN and Ed.D.

I got into recruiting and retention through the North Carolina Center for Nursing, the nation's first state-supported center for nursing workforce planning. As the associate director, I looked at what worked and what research had been done to recruit and retain nurses. Much of my work on the state and national level highlights strategies to recruit and retain health care personnel and to develop rewarding workplaces.

I developed a statewide campaign, "Nursing: The Power to Make a Difference," to inform youth of the challenges and rewards of nursing careers. At least a dozen states are using some of our campaign strategies.

Do you have any pivotal experiences as a man in nursing?

I have been asked on a number of occasions how I feel as a man in nursing. If I were in business, I'd be one man among thousands, but in nursing I stand out, good or bad, and this has given me all sorts of wonderful experiences.

As a new graduate, I was sent to fill in on the OB floor. The head nurse looked at me and said, "What in the world are you doing here?" My usual response is to be up front and confront any hint of difficultly. When she realized that my assistance was all the help she was going to get, she kept me there and even invited me to come back the next day.

Another milestone was when I taught a new mother and her husband how to breast-feed their baby. As usual I was up front, saying I certainly had no personal experience, but I did know what to look for and I had my check sheet. The baby latched on like you wouldn't believe and I knew we had a success. Both mom and dad were elated.

What have you learned from our history of recruiting?

Historically, hospitals didn't think about recruiting until a position opened. Little emphasis was put on retention and the size of the hospital depended upon whether it had a recruiter or not. As long as there was a nurse base to draw from and nurses were available, things were fine.

Two trends are becoming apparent. First, hospitals have realized that patients, physicians and nurses are all part of their customer base-not just the patients-and a quality workplace produces quality care.

Second, a Web presence is needed both for patient information and employee recruiting.

Job openings used to be buried on … a Web page; now it's up front, marketing to nurses as well as patients.

What's the scoop on retention and recruiting?

Retention is the best recruitment strategy. You can't recruit forever if an organization does not keep its nurses. It's all about valuing people. Nurses don't do their jobs just for the money, although competitive salaries are important. Nurses, we know from the literature, go into nursing to make a difference in people's lives. If a nurse's personal and professional goals are met, that nurse will be retained.

Recruiting has to be a consistent part of the marketing strategy. The idea is to brand services to potential employees as well as customers. Hospitals can enmesh themselves favorably into the community. Those who attend a wellness event, for example, might think in terms of future work at that location.

Success is in making a difference by giving safe, efficient, cost-effective patient care and nurses have to be part of the decision-making process.

Anything you'd like to add?

There are now several accelerated programs where a person can become a nurse in 13 months. One hospital went to the local community college and now offers a weekend/ evening option. Schools also need to consider staggered graduations. Hospitals now overhire in the spring to prepare for December staffing.

With the downturn in the economy and Sept. 11, we don't lack applicants and need to develop partnerships to help increase the capacity for admission into our profession.