Abstract
Background:
Employee retention is imperative to healthcare success. High turnover rates are associated with increased organizational costs, including repetitive candidate searches, training time, and lost investment. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the factors related to respiratory therapist (RT) retention and perspectives on the current healthcare climate to inform retention and engagement practices.
Methods:
A survey was administered to 456 RTs currently employed (full-time and part-time) at a major metropolitan hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The survey had a 66.2% (n=300) completion rate. Descriptive statistics were computed. This study was approved by the respective hospital ethical board.
Results:
Among RTs who completed the survey (n=300), approximately a third of participants have been practicing for over 20 years (32.7%) and 23.7% have been practicing for 5 years or less. Nearly half of RTs (47.7%) reported being satisfied as an RT, and 32.5% reported being very satisfied. The highest education level for participants included bachelor's degrees (44.7%), associate degrees (45.7%), and masters or higher (9.6%). When asked where participants see themselves in five years, 31.3% replied in their current role, 11.8% reported pursuing higher education, 23.2% reported retiring or leaving the respiratory therapy field, and 15.4% replied entering a management role. Participants were asked to specify one idea to implement for the entire respiratory therapy department, and 25.5% replied building teamwork and improving communication between staff and among leadership. Nearly 11% replied they would like to see more incentives or higher wages for staff. The other responses included more autonomy (10.4%), increased training and educational opportunities (8.0%), increase staffing (7.1%), and dedicated staff for specific areas of the hospital (9.9%). Regarding the state of RTs in the current healthcare climate, 40.0% of respondents reported positive answers, stating that respiratory therapy is an important and respected field of healthcare. However, 35.9% of respondents reported negative answers, including stating the field is underappreciated and regressing. Approximately 17% of participants stated neutral responses.
Conclusions:
Healthcare leadership should utilize responses from employee surveys to address retention and turnover rates among RTs.
Disclosures:
None; Sponsored Research-None.
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