CNO collaborates with nursing schools to reduce turnover

Phoenix Children’s Hospital CNO Rhonda Thompson, DNP, RN, reached out to local nursing schools when large numbers of her first-year nurses quit because they felt unprepared to care for sick children. The schools revised their curricula to better prepare their students to care for injured, ill and dying children; one nursing program started providing a full year focused on pediatric care to better prepare nurses. Thompson, who also serves as senior vice president of patient care services, says the changes appear to be reducing turnover. The hospital also expanded its residency program from 12 to 18 months to create more opportunities for the cohorts to debrief and build support within the workplace. (HealthLeaders Media article, 5/19/23)