Certified nursing assistants provide the bulk of direct care in a skilled nursing facility.

Overview

Certified nursing assistants provide the bulk of direct care in a skilled nursing facility. Unfortunately, the profession experiences high turnover which is not only costly, but it directly impacts the care provided to our consumers. As a future administrator, you will spend a significant amount of time managing both recruitment and retention efforts. To that end, this week you are tasked with designing a retention plan based on two of the identified factors of CNA turnover. A brief case scenario is provided as case studies are a useful learning tool used in management education to give student a feel for the complexities of the real work and how the theories, models and research being studied can be used in practice.

Case Scenario

Congratulations! You were recently promoted from Assistant Administrator to Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. With the promotion comes a new opportunity to be the Administrator of a one-hundred bed skilled nursing facility in a rural area of central PA.

Unfortunately, the facility is not without its challenges. In the past six months, twenty-nine employees, all CNAs, have resigned with several CNAs simply not showing up for their scheduled shift. The constant turnover has impacted staff morale to where it is now at an all-time low.

Your facility is budgeted for forty-five CNA positions, however the facility averages forty CNAs on staff. You are concerned that the low morale and additional workload will result in burnout and subsequent additional turnover. You spring into action, consulting your HR specialists and management team to design a program to retain CNAs in your LTC facility.

Step 1, Establish a baseline. What is your current CNA turnover rate?

Step 2, What is your goal? How much would you like to reduce the turnover rate?

Step 3, What actions or initiatives will you develop to meet your goal? Develop a time line associated with each action.

Keep in mind, the literature suggests CNAs leave their jobs for four main reasons,

short staffing,

poor wages and benefits,

lack of respect,

inadequate training and education

Therefore, your initiative(s) should resolve two or more the reasons why CNAs leave their jobs.