Clinician turnover is a complex problem, driving up labor costs, straining staff and jeopardizing patient care.
Research suggests that the average cost of turnover for one staff RN in 2024 reached $61,110 — an increase of 8.6% over the prior year. Research also shows that hospitals units with the lowest annual turnover rates have lower patient fall rates.
It therefore is no surprise that reducing clinician turnover is a top priority for hospitals and health systems. But many don’t have the data and insights to address the root causes of workforce instability. In a Becker’s webinar sponsored by AMN Healthcare, three experts discussed how Renown Health, in partnership with AMN Healthcare, is tackling clinician turnover challenges head-on:
- John Fagerland, senior product manager, AMN Healthcare
- Suzanne Oetjen, vice president, human resources, Renown Health (Reno, Nev.)
- Tyler Punteney, manager, strategic workforce solutions, AMN Healthcare
Here are four key takeaways from their conversation:
- To address staff burnout, retention strategies must go beyond wages.
According to AMN Healthcare’s most recent nurse survey, 58% of nurses report feeling burnout on most days. Wage increases alone are not a sustainable solution to this problem. The encouraging news is that operational redesign represents an opportunity area.
According to Mr. Punteney, work-life balance and schedule flexibility consistently rank as nurses’ top solutions to burnout. “In our 2025 survey, 77% of nurses eligible for retirement say they would consider staying if the role fit their desires and the incentives were aligned,” he said. “This is a major opportunity to retain experienced talent, reduce the onboarding strain and stabilize our teams.”
- An intentional and phased approach is the key to a sustainable, scalable workforce model.
The first step in building a workforce model is clearly defining the vision and goals. Next, organizations must identify the key teams and stakeholders needed to support that vision.
During the planning phase, it’s important to build out a structured change management strategy. As organizations shift to implementation, they need the right tools and technology to support flexibility, transparency and deployment of staff.
Mr. Punteney explained that the process isn’t about flipping a switch. It’s about building the right foundation and keeping people aligned throughout. “The outcomes of this journey include increased staffing stability, improved retention, reduced reliance on external travelers and aligned costs and care delivery,” he said.
- Renown Health partnered with AMN Healthcare to address persistent employee burnout and turnover.
In March 2020, Renown Health decided to take a deep dive to move its workforce forward. HR, finance and operations all realized the organization needed data to make informed decisions. During its search for a partner to identify and address the root causes of turnover, Renown Health discovered AMN Healthcare and decided to implement AMN Healthcare’s predictive analytics and scheduling software solution.
“Since this was at the height of the pandemic, we needed a very flexible solution,” Ms. Oetjen said. “AMN Healthcare listened and helped us do an operational assessment. We also leaned on AMN for best practices.”
The predictive scheduling solution aligns patient demand with workforce needs, gives leaders and staff visibility into open shifts and enables employees to select those shifts that best suit their needs. A key element of the technology is the workforce planning dashboard that is the single source of truth for Renown Health users.
“There is a lot of siloed data across stakeholders, so this brings all that data together,” Mr. Fagerland said. “We get the right data to the right person so they can make the right workforce decision.”
- While Renown Health has made significant progress on its staffing challenges, it’s committed to ongoing improvement.
In the third quarter of 2021, registered nurse turnover at Renown Health exceeded 40%. Today, since implementing Smart Square, turnover rates are at or below industry averages for nursing and ancillary support services.
Renown Health’s internal float pool is another major win. Between 2022 and today, the organization has seen a 267% increase in the float pool, which includes RNs, CNAs, critical care techs, care assistants and PSAs. Ms. Oetjen attributes this to the workforce analysis that AMN and Renown conducted.
In addition, Renown Health has experienced an 81.8% reduction in the use of travelers and a 14.9% increase in core staff growth between 2022 and today. While Renown Health has made tremendous strides in its work with AMN Healthcare, Ms. Oetjen knows the journey isn’t over.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” she said. “We want to continue to use our focus and lean into our People First strategy and vision to continue this trajectory and make sure our employees are well-taken care of.” To register for upcoming webinars, click here.
