Abstract

Organizations with high employee engagement reap the benefits of higher employee retention and improved customer satisfaction. Studies find that engaged workers are in the minority. Among healthcare workers, nurses are found to be the least engaged. The association of the registered nurse (RN) at the bedside with improved patient outcomes has been documented by many. Today, the goal of providing safe, high quality and efficient patient care and an exceptional patient experience are benchmark measures for patient care delivery. Since nurses are essential to optimal patient outcomes, it is important to understand what motivates them. Career advancement programs (CAPs) are one method of addressing the challenge of creating engagement. The purpose of this scholarly project is to determine if participation in a professional career advancement program for RNs improves nurse engagement and has an impact on patient outcomes. The study will survey RNs in a tertiary care academic center in the southwestern United States who are enrolled in a career advancement program. The results of this project demonstrated that participation in a professional career advancement program for RNs does not improve nurse engagement, and extraneous variables must be considered. The potential exists for employers to identify those variables that impact nurse engagement. This study did find, however, that there is a positive association between improved patient outcomes and participation in the career advancement program.

Language

English

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Level of Degree

Doctoral

First Committee Member

Amy Levi PhD, CNM, WHNP-BC, FACNM, FAAN

Second Committee Member

Kim McKinley DNP, ACNP-BC, INS-BC

Keywords

Keywords: career advancement programs, career ladder, nurse engagement, patient outcomes, work engagement

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