The Mater Private Hospital is the biggest hospital of Mater Health Services. Its main strengths are the long tradition and good reputation due to a high healthcare quality. The focus on high quality is also positioned in its vision to become the leader of compassionate and exceptional healthcare. Currently, reaching the vision is at risk. Due to a poor work-life balance the job satisfaction as well as motivation of nurses decreased. In addition, high stress levels lead to a poor nursing outcome and impair the healthcare quality. Furthermore, an increasing turnover rate causes lowered organisational cost efficiency and high recruitment costs.
An internal and external analysis of the labour market, the MPH, and the role of nurses, showed the great importance of a good WLB, a high commitment and a high retention rate. Since one of MPH’s main goals is to continually improve its employment offer in order to increase the retention rate, it is recommendable that it implements an intervention that increases the WLB, job satisfaction and retention rate.
Two possible interventions have been examined: (1) Flexible Working Hours and (2) Mentoring Programme. The recommended intervention for the MPH is implementing a Mentoring Programme. It shows the same advantages in its outcome as the flexible working hours (higher job satisfaction, better WLB, higher commitment). However, it has more advantages than flexible working hours: it also improves older nurses’ retention, improves the team environment, and improves the knowledge and education of younger nurses. Therefore, it contributes to achieve the MPH’s vision by increasing the healthcare quality.
A generated action plan, including key actions, success criteria, timescales, resources, responsibilities, monitoring and evaluation against success criteria shows a detailed implementation strategy. After the implementation it is recommendable according to the CHRM framework to continually assess and improve the mentoring programme.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Background and Purpose
1.2 Methodology
1.3 Limitations
2 Situational Analysis
2.1 Labour Market
2.1 Mater Private Hospital
2.2 The Role of RNS
3 Interventions
3.1 Intervention 1 – Flexible Working Hours
3.1.1 Rationale
3.1.2 Advantages and Disadvantages
3.2 Intervention 2 – Mentoring Programme
3.2.1 Rationale
3.2.2 Advantages and Disadvantages
3.3 Recommended Intervention
4 Action Plan
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
The primary objective of this report is to address the high turnover rates and work-life balance issues faced by registered nurses (RNS) at the Mater Private Hospital (MPH). By conducting an internal and external situational analysis, the research evaluates potential interventions to improve job satisfaction, staff retention, and overall healthcare quality, ultimately recommending the implementation of a formal mentoring programme.
- Analysis of the Australian labour market and its impact on nursing recruitment.
- Evaluation of the relationship between nurse work-life balance, job satisfaction, and retention rates.
- Assessment of flexible working hours versus mentoring programmes as strategic interventions.
- Development of a comprehensive action plan for the implementation of a mentoring programme.
- Strategic alignment of HR initiatives with the organizational vision and cost efficiency goals.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.1 Rationale
A mentor can function as role model for his mentee (Sharma & Freeman 2014). He can act as a friend, teacher, facilitator, coach, and consultant (Smith, McAllister & Snype Crawford 2001; Pulce 2005). Therefore, the mentee can confide in his mentor and discuss stressful situations as well as traumatic experiences. By giving both career- and social-related support mentoring focuses on personal and organisational aspects (Young & Perrewé 2000). Therefore, the mentor can support his mentee with advices regarding the WLB as well as in handling difficult emotional situations in the workplace. In addition, he can teach his mentee and thereby improving the nursing outcome and the healthcare quality.
Supportive colleagues and working in a good team environment can make nurses having a greater job satisfaction and can cause in a will to stay in the hospital (Cameron & Brownie 2010). Therefore, the support of mentors can result in a higher retention rate. For the MPH’s mentoring programme it is recommendable that older, experienced nurses act as mentors and have younger, stressed nurses as mentees.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the report's purpose, which is to recommend a mentoring programme to improve work-life balance and retention at Mater Private Hospital, and outlines the applied methodology.
2 Situational Analysis: Examines the external labour market trends and the internal hospital environment, highlighting how work-life strain and turnover negatively impact the hospital's reputation and financial health.
3 Interventions: Compares flexible working hours and a mentoring programme as potential solutions, evaluating the rationale and pros and cons of each approach to support staff.
4 Action Plan: Presents a detailed implementation strategy including success criteria, resource requirements, and evaluation metrics for the proposed mentoring programme.
5 Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, reaffirming that a mentoring programme is a vital initiative to enhance employee satisfaction and achieve the hospital's long-term vision.
Keywords
Mater Private Hospital, Registered Nurses, Mentoring Programme, Work-Life Balance, Staff Retention, Job Satisfaction, Labour Market, Healthcare Quality, Nursing Turnover, Employee Development, Human Resource Management, CHRM Framework, Nursing Stress, Workplace Support, Organizational Vision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this report?
The report focuses on addressing high nurse turnover and poor work-life balance at the Mater Private Hospital through targeted human resource interventions.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The themes include the analysis of nursing labour shortages, the impact of shift work on nurse health, organizational cost efficiency, and the development of employee support systems.
What is the ultimate goal of the research?
The goal is to increase nurse retention and job satisfaction, thereby maintaining high healthcare quality and ensuring the hospital meets its vision.
Which scientific method was utilized?
The research utilizes the CHRM decision-making framework, involving an environmental analysis (SWOT/GAP), literature review, and the development of an implementation action plan.
What does the main body discuss?
It provides an analysis of the situational factors affecting the nursing workforce and a comparative assessment of flexible working hours versus mentoring as intervention strategies.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Mentoring Programme, Work-Life Balance, Nurse Retention, Job Satisfaction, and Healthcare Quality.
Why is a mentoring programme preferred over flexible working hours in this specific context?
While both improve outcomes, mentoring is voluntary, benefits both older and younger nurses, builds resilience against workplace trauma, and improves team cohesion without creating conflicts between different employee groups.
How is the success of the mentoring programme measured?
Success is monitored through key performance indicators such as retention rates, absenteeism levels, staff and patient satisfaction surveys, and a reduction in recruitment costs.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Maren Düchting (Autor:in), 2015, Improving the Work-Life Balance of Registered Nurses, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/336695
