Retaining graduate nurses: a staff development challenge.

The high attrition of graduate nurses in their first nursing positions has a significant and costly impact on Staff Development Departments. Orientation of these new practitioners demands increased use of resources (educators, money, and energy) which in turn decreases the availability of these resources for the career development of the more experienced RN staff. To justify this investment, the new graduate must be retained beyond the first year. Staff development educators are challenged to create and test new strategies to facilitate this retention. This article describes one strategy, support groups, and its effect upon the retention and job satisfaction of graduate nurses during their first year of employment.