Staff Recruitment/Retention Marc-Oliver Wright, Director of QI/IC NorthShore University HealthSystem August 14, 2014

The Hard Cold Facts Surge of expected retirees among IPs in the coming years (20% in next 5-7?) The job itself is more challenging Expanding responsibilities outstrip resources Shifting role boundaries create uncertainty Evolving mechanisms of influence involve trade-offs The stress of constant change is compounded by chronic recurring challenges 1 No one Is offering more personnel resources Conway et al. AJIC Nov 13

Our challenge With corporate responsibilities, our focus should be Developing sustained infrastructure for training Being open to non-traditional applicants when able Employee engagement for retention

Developing sustained infrastructure for training 2009: IPs requested a manual for training Developed over a 2 year period; with sections divvied out Focus on operations and technical aspects How to find the contact isolation lists in Epic, where to document investigations etc. APIC text, policies and general knowledge not included Updated annually

Being open to non-traditional applicants when able In the past 7 years I have had the following 6.5 FTEs RNs (4) MTs(2) MPH (3) Two of which never worked in a hospital before One was a bank teller before coming here Each of which would outperform most IPs on most days CHES (0.5) The rewards of diversity are different perspectives and fresh ideas

Being open to non-traditional applicants when able When will a non-RN do? When you have >1 FTE for IC When you have a support network to assist When you have the right applicant What to do with a non-RN? Invest: Orientation to the floor, shadow clinical staff w/o intrusion Custom orientation for growth-allow for small successes

Being open to non-traditional applicants when able Evaluate tasks-when is an IP needed? MRSA isolation: IP not needed, MTs in micro order isolation with the result LTC notification of MDRO transfers: IP not needed, admin asst completes the communication NHSN denominator and CDA submission: IP not needed, admin asst does this Dept of Health calls: IP may not be needed, admin asst triages I not only need to retain my IPs I need to retain my admin asst.

Recruitment Opportunities Schools of Public Health Capstone projects can be an opportunity to Get a project done you always wanted Build relations with the university “Test Out” potentially interested applicants I have hired two IPs through this An RN finishing her MPH and doing a time motion study with our hospital epidemiologist An MPH who lead our employee influenza vaccination risk assessment and campaign

Recruitment Opportunities Nursing Schools Clinical rotations often include optional/elective rotations Getting in front of nursing students early (pre-clinical) and provoke interest in the profession Can a new nursing graduate be an IP? See “when will a non-RN do?”

Engagement/Retention Flexibility Work : Life balance Gen Y values flexibility over compensation (NPR8/13/14) Some IP work can be done anywhere Abusing HR Write the job description to require optional perks Require membership in APIC Board certification required What is required, must be reimbursable  Leverage every opportunity NorthShore incentivized nurses to get board certification with 5% bump-I argued it should apply to CIC as well

Engagement/Retention Golden Rule Group Meetings (no MDs allowed) Weekly in person staff meeting with lab and MDs were helpful but didn’t allow for IP to IP talk Scheduled an additional meeting every two weeks Format: Everyone brings a challenge or question to the group for input/discussion Shared Sacrifice 3% RIF last year Time of great anxiety-when I explained we avoided cuts by my undertaking another department the staff knew we were all in this together.

Engagement/Retention I have lost the following staff members 1.0 MPH to $. She was underpaid and HR wouldn’t budge. I wrote her letter of recommendation to her new facility and told them if they didn’t pay her well I would steal her back. She got a 45% increase in her new facility. 0.5 RN to retirement after ~40 years 0.5 CHES to a new field

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