Nurse Commitment: How to Retain Professional Staff Nurses in a Multigenerational Workforce

Modern multigenerational nursing cohorts come with their own unique challenges, but they can also be leveraged to retain staff and increase organizational effectiveness. The key, according to organizational psychology practitioner Dr. April L. Jones, PhD, is to identify and work with each generation’s unique values and work ethic.

Nurse Commitment is the result of an extensive six-year organizational psychology study, published in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of Nurse Management and as a doctoral dissertation in the December 2014 issue of ProQuest. After examining the affective commitment of registered nurses in the baby boomer generation, Jones realized their commitment could be utilized to retain nurses from different generational cohorts, creating cross-generational ties and a robust organizational employee-development program.

Retaining nurses is a major issue for health care organizations, resulting in unnecessary costs, poor work performance, and a loss of patient safety. Jones’s comprehensive and holistic approach focuses on the importance of a team approach to multigenerational and multicultural nursing cohorts.

While tailored specifically to nursing, Jones’s methodology, research, and content applies to staffing matrixes across the health care environment and in other industries. Discover the unique strength a cohesive multigenerational cohort brings to your organization’s strategic retention plan and philosophy.

Dr. April L. Jones, PhD, is a native of Town Creek, Alabama, who currently resides in Montgomery, Alabama. With sixteen years as a business and social sciences professional, Dr. Jones has experience in independent research, direct family practice, community and organizational development, talent management, public relations, education and training, entrepreneurship, and program evaluation.

Well known for her ability to successfully engage clients and facilitate dynamic education seminars, Dr. Jones provides subject matter expertise in an array of business consultations.

Dr. Jones's education includes a BA in sociology from Stillman College, an MSW in social work from the University of Alabama, an MSM in management from Faulkner University, and a PhD in organizational psychology from Walden University. She is a member of the Alabama State Nurse Association, the American Evaluation Association, the American Psychological Association, the Society of Human Resources Management, and the Association for Talent Development, among others.