RUNNING HEAD: BUSINESS PLAN

Business Plan for Nurses Appreciation Day

Jennifer Fernandez
University of Saint Mary

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Business Plan for Nurses Appreciation Day

Nursing is one of the most silently appreciated fields in medicine.

Being a nurse isnt about the guts and glory of it all, its about holding our
patients hands as their time on earth nears an end, helping mothers brings
new babies into our world, playing with children at their developmental
level to make them comfortable with their cancer treatments, educating
patients on ways to improve their life during their illness process, and so
much more. As nurse appreciation week nears, it is important to thank them
for their services, show them appreciation, and also retains the ones
currently working at the facility. Nurses appreciation day is a great way to
subtly focus on recruitment and retention.
As our facility is facing staffing shortages and requiring significant
overtime, it is very important our nurses know we appreciate them.
Although nurses appreciation is a scheduled week, it allows us the
preparation to acknowledge the hard work the nurses do on a daily basis for
the facility. Retaining our seasoned staff members is extremely important to
the day to day functioning at our hospital.
In preparation for this upcoming week, many nurses were contacted
and asked what would make them feel appreciated. It is also recommended
that a follow up survey be completed to assess the performance of the
appreciation day for future planning. Nurses responses to what would make
them feel appreciated, revolved around food and relaxation. These seem like
simple enough requests to use for further investigation into budgetary
possibilities. My proposal for one of the days during nurses appreciation
week consists of a complimentary hot breakfast, complimentary ice cream
with lunch, and a time period open in the auditorium for nurses to stop in
for 10 minute massages and for the annual gifts, an aromatherapy hand
sanitizer.
Health care facilities that strive to create, offer, and maintain mentally
healthy workplace environments are a win-win situation for everyone
involved and make good business sense. In essence, good health equals
good business. Recent studies of the costs of nurse turnover have reported
results ranging from about $22,000 to over $64,000 (U.S.) per nurse
turnover. (Mrayyan, 2005). Turnover costs, in general, have been estimated
to range between 0.75 to 2.0 times the salaries of the departing individual,
while nurse turnover costs have been estimated at 1.3 times the salary of a
departing nurse. (Mrayyan, 2005). Retention of experienced, enculturated
nurses, elevates the quality of care delivered and improves patient

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outcomes, such as reducing the length of stay and complications of

hospitalization.
Nurses were asked: Overall, how satisfied are you with your current
position?
The respondents answered on a scale ranging from highly satisfied (4)
to highly dissatisfied (1). Respondents scored very high in satisfaction,
with 89% stating they were highly satisfied or generally satisfied.
Although the nurses reported high satisfaction in their job, 61% of the
sample stated they planned to leave their job within 10 years. One
third of the nurses under the age of 26 years planned to leave their
job within the next two years, and over one third of this cohort
intended to leave their job in the next five years. Thirty three percent
of the nurses over the age of 40 years stated that they planned to
retire in between 2016 and 2020, a number that could constitute over
one third of the nursing workforce in the next decade (Weick et al.,
2010).
Nurses who are appreciated are more likely to feel satisfied with their
current job. Overall, the cost of a good nurse appreciation day outweighs
the cost of nurse turnover in a market analysis.
Approximately 150 nurses work each day in the hospital. Estimating a
cost of $3 per breakfast for one day, the budget would call for
approximately $450. Estimating a cost of $1 per nurse for ice cream for
lunch for one day, would be an additional $150. Blue Cliff College could be
reached to volunteer their time for massages in exchange for their contact
hours. If necessary estimating a cost of $1 per minute of massage, with
three therapists to accommodate staff members time constraints for six
hours of the day, the budget would call for $1,080. Lastly, as a gift for the
nurses throughout the hospital, small aromatherapy hand sanitizers are
available from Bath and Body Works for $1 each, for approximately 450
nurses hospital-wide would be $450 added to the budget. All together the
budget would be approximately $2,130.
Implementation planning in total would take approximately 15 days, or
three business weeks pending return phone calls etc. The breakfast and ice
cream serving should be open and available for two hours each to allow
nurses time to go to the cafeteria. The massage therapists should be booked
for six hours. Lastly, the gift would be able to be given out in one day in
employee mailboxes.

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2
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Breakfast

Ice Cream
Implementation Time

Massages

Gift

Actual Time of Event

Considering everything the nurses do and give to the patients and

hospital, this day of appreciation is feasible. The cost is worth the benefits
when considering the effects on nurses job satisfaction. Feeling
appreciated promotes job satisfaction. Job satisfaction promotes retention.
As the data showed earlier, retention is more cost effective.
In summary, planning a nurses appreciation day is cost-effective. The
feeling of appreciation will promote job retention. Planning a few bits of
appreciation, breakfast, ice cream, massages, and a gift, will cost
approximately $2,130. The budget cost is minimal if consideration of nurse
retention and new training costs are considered. Although the overall price
may seem steep, in the big picture it is pennies compared to the cost of
losing employees due to lack of appreciation. Consider the costs of training
new nurses, new graduates, and patient satisfaction related to skill level
and nurse satisfaction in general.

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References

Bath and Body Works. Retrieved from:

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/category/index.jsp?
categoryId=12587004&cm_sp=FO-_-AB-_-AB
Mulcahy, A. (2014). An organization functions only as well as the people
who help to run it. Nurses are most often the backbone of what keeps
large health care organizations operating functionally and efficiently.
Nurses are the body, mind, and spirit of most. Workplace Mental
Health Manual for Nurse Managers.
Mrayyan, M. T. (2005). Nurse job satisfaction and retention: comparing
public to private hospitals in Jordan. Journal of Nursing Management,
13(1), 40-50.
Shader, K., Broome, M. E., Broome, C. D., West, M. E., & Nash, M. (2001).
Factors influencing satisfaction and anticipated turnover for nurses in
an academic medical center. Journal of Nursing Administration, 31(4),
210-216.
Wainright III, C. F. (2006). The Future Is Now: A Call for Action. Managing
Human Resources in Health Care Organizations, 373.
Weick, K., Dols, J., & Landrum, P. (2010). Retention priorities for the
intergenerational nurse workforce. Nursing Forum, 45(1), 7-17.