2008 San Francisco Bay Area Novice RN Workforce Insights

Many leading employers asked Labor Market Pulse (LMP) to shed some insight on nursing’s next generation of front-line leaders. Whether they are called novices, recent graduates or millennial, one thing is for sure…nurses that graduated between 2005 and 2008 have a unique view on the nursing profession, have distinct employment preferences, and may aspire to define their personal and professional future in exciting new ways.

This new way of thinking about career, family and relationships with employers presents both challenge and opportunity.

Interviews with local nursing and human resource executives provided anecdotal evidence of morale and retention issues among novice nurses. Fortunately, findings in this report suggest this is limited to a small - but difficult - subset of recent graduates.

With help from our research contributors and research council members, Labor Market Pulse listened to over 80 novice nurses in the San Francisco Bay Area including:

• Participation in the inaugural San Francisco Bay Area RN Workforce Survey conducted in the spring of 2008
• Focus groups conducted at Health Workforce Solutions’ San Francisco headquarters in the fall of 2008

The results provide never-before-seen insights into the behaviors and decisions of novice nurses in the local market. Interspersed with LMP Opportunity Assessments to help digest the data, these key findings include:

• The employers of choice for the Bay Area’s novice nurses
• What novice nurses most desire from their employers and positions
• Primary reasons for turnover in Bay Area nurses
• Insights into Bay Area nurses job search, views from the bedside, education plans, career aspirations and more!

This report sheds new light on how to best find, train and invest in San Francisco Bay Area’s novice nurses. Employers that are best able to recruit and retain top talent from local universities will have an advantage for years to come.

Colleges and universities in the Bay Area and beyond should benefit from the unique insights in this report. Educators play a critical role in a novice nurse’s initial job search, level of preparedness and comfort delivering care at the bed-side, and satisfaction with their chosen profession.

Methodology and Data Presentation

Invitations to participate in Labor Market Pulse’s 2008 Bay Area RN Workforce Survey were distributed directly by research contributors and council members via e-mail. The survey was conducted and data collected using an industry standard online application. Please see the “Acknowledgments” section of this report for a complete list of Bay Area LMP research contributors and research council members.

Where possible, LMP analysis draws comparisons between Bay area novice nurses, Bay area experienced RNs, and novice nurses in other LMP research markets. Otherwise, there were no meaningful differences between these groups.

Also included in this section

• 2008 Bay Area Novice Nurse Report in Brief
• Novice RN Insights: 2008 Employer of Choice
• Novice RNs Job Search: Finding the First Employer
• Novice RNs Job Search: Comparing Offers – What Matters Most?
• Novice RN Job Search: Most Desirable Attributes of a First Employer
• Novice RNs at the Bedside: Feedback on Formal Training Programs
• Novice RNs at the Bedside: Work Settings, Commute & Schedules
• Novice RNs at the Bedside: Compensation, Benefits and Education Debt Profiles
• Novice RNs at the Bedside: Retention Rates among Novice RNs
• Novice RN Education: Preparation for Initial Licensure
• Novice RNs Speak Out on Nursing Programs
• Novice RN Education: Plans for Advanced Degrees