A career mobility program for skilled nursing facilities.

Abstract

This article reports the results of a 3-year demonstration project in career mobility for nursing personnel in skilled nursing facilities. The goal of the project was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a career mobility program in addressing service delivery challenges such as recruitment, retention, and satisfaction of nursing personnel in skilled nursing facilities. The project was a joint effort between an educational department of a large university and a major long-term care corporation. The project evaluation addressed the effectiveness of this career mobility program in attracting and retaining nursing personnel, the satisfaction of nursing personnel with their jobs, and whether the additional training affected the quality of care. Five pilot and three comparison sites were designated in Southern California. Survey, self-report, and interview data were collected at yearly intervals and at the completion of the project. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance formed the basis for data analysis and interpretation. Overall, the findings suggested that the career mobility program has the potential to retain staff who benefit from a career development program. The career mobility program was a valuable strategy, but its success was only as good as the management team's authority to support the program and emphasize its goals.