St. Louis-based Ascension is using three strategies to turn advanced nursing education into long-term retention.
Nurses enrolled in school or who held graduate degrees were more likely to leave their roles, according to a recent study — a paradox that some systems are reversing with their career programs. The national nurse turnover rate is 28.7%, however, nurses with an MSN, DNP or PhD had 55% higher odds of turnover than nurses whose highest degree is a BSN, according to the study published in Health Affairs Scholar. Among nurses who left, 8.7% held graduate degrees, and nurses enrolled in a degree program were 84% more likely to turn over.
“We put a lot of energy into helping them get through school, but we have to be just as intentional about what happens the day after graduation,” Rob Rose, DNP, RN, senior vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, told Becker’s. “When a nurse earns a higher degree, their mental model shifts. They move from viewing care as a series of bedside tasks to looking at healthcare through systems design, scientific evidence and clinical leadership.”
Ascension helps its chief nursing officers achieve this by leveraging systemwide programs, in which they:
1. Establish a culture of clinical partners: “We prepare our hospital cultures to welcome these nurses as true clinical partners. When they question outdated practices or point out system inefficiencies, that is clinical leadership in action — not pushback.”
2. Apply capstone research to hospital units: “Through structures like our Evidence-Based Practice Academy and shared governance, we create direct channels for nurses to apply their capstone research and scientific training to real unit-level problems immediately.”
3. Systemwide internal mobility: “Working alongside our HR Center for Career Advancement, we build clear pathways across the broader ministry so that as their talent expands, their career stays right here with us.”
“This infrastructure ensures our CNOs don’t have to navigate this alone, allowing us to align their new skills with organizational needs,” Dr. Rose said.
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