British Columbia: improving retention and recruitment in smaller communities.

Abstract

This pilot project involved the application, in Canada, of the innovative 80/20 staffing model to a hospital in a small rural setting. The model provides the voluntary participants with 20% of their salaried time off from direct patient care in order to pursue various types of professional development activities. The project, overseen by a steering committee, lasted from June 2009 to February 2010 and involved 14 nurses on the pediatric unit of Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, British Columbia. It entailed a collaborative partnership of the British Columbia Nurses' Union, Interior Health Authority, Thompson Rivers University and the British Columbia Ministry of Health, and aimed to demonstrate how professional development opportunities can improve recruitment and retention of nurses, quality of work life and quality of patient care.