HJBR Jul/Aug 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JUL / AUG 2022 45 Karen C. Lyon, PhD, MBA, APRN-CNS, NEA Chief Executive Officer Louisiana State Board of Nursing • Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the NLRNs plan to advance their educa- tion: 35% planned to pursue a bac- calaureate degree in nursing, 39% a master’s degree in nursing, and 11% planned to pursue a doctorate. • Sixty-four percent (64%) of the NL- RNs took the NCLEX-RN between two to seven weeks after graduation, 33% between two to four weeks, and 31% between five to seven weeks. • Ninety-two percent (92%) of the NL- RNs reported passing the NCLEX- RN on first take. • In 2021, 43% of the NLRNs reported that they had participated in a nurse residency program compared to 15% in 2017 and 38% in 2019. • Sixty-six percent (66%), or 220, of the NLRNs that had not participated in a nurse residency program report- ed that a nurse residency/transition to practice program was not offered by their employer. • The top two motivating factors re- ported by NLRNs for participating in a nurse residency program were in- creasing skills and confidence (68% of respondents) and receiving a sala- ry/stipend (58% of respondents). NLRNs Find Employment • Ninety-eight percent (98%) of the NLRNs were employed at the time they completed the survey, which was consistent with the 2019 survey. • Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the NLRNs found employment as an RN in less than three months. • Sixty-five percent (65%) of the NL- RNs had worked as an RN for more than a year at the time they com- pleted the 2021 LCN NLRN Survey, followed by 16% that reported being employed seven to 10 months. • The vast majority, 95%, of NLRNs were working full time, 2% report- ed working part-time, and 3% were working on a per diem basis. • Seventy-two percent (72%) of the NLRNs reported being employed in an acute care hospital at the time of completion of the survey, 6% were working in home health/community health/public health, 5% were work- ing in clinic/ambulatory care, and 5% in long-term care/skilled nursing facilities. • Seventy-eight percent (78%) of the NLRNs reported that they were working in their job of choice. • Thirty-six percent (36%) of the em- ployed NLRNs reported starting sal- aries of $25-$27 per hour compared to 23% in 2019. The percentage of NLRNs reporting a starting salary of $22-$24 per hour decreased by 30 percentage points over the last two years (58% in 2019; 64% in 2017). • Thirty-three percent (33%), or 189, of the NLRNs reported that they had changed employment settings at least once since their initial position as an RN. • Reasons given for changing posi- tions included uncomfortable work environment (38%), which included bullying, inadequate training, un- safe staff/patient ratios, and lack of support by management/adminis- tration; better opportunities (16%); need for better pay/benefits (14%); relocation (9%); travel nursing (7%); and other (17%). Narrative Comments by NLRNs Each year the LCN NLRN Survey is con- ducted, respondents are asked to share comments/concerns about their employ- ment-seeking experiences in Louisiana, and each year there have been hundreds of comments shared about their successes and challenges in pursuing employment as an RN in Louisiana as well as their ex- periences as newly employed RNs. The following represent a few of the NLRNs’ comments: NLRNs that found it relatively easy to find employment in Louisiana • I had no issues finding employment. I receive (and still receive) mail/ emails regarding employment op- portunities in the region. Lack of experience and not feeling prepared • Several employers want 1-year clini- cal RN experience. They did not take my seven years as an LPN into con- sideration. • There should certainly be more op- portunities for newly licensed nurses to transition into their career field as there are hardly any opportunities around my residence. Nurse residency/transition to practice programs • Starting out new on nights with a 7-1 patient-to-nurse ratio with lit- tle support and a staff shortage is a guaranteed quick burnout. Universal residencies that have a firm, dedicat- ed schedule with weeks of education and orientating moving through all units/levels of care and skills labs would be highly beneficial, not only