The Use of an Advanced Medical-Surgical Course for the Retention and Professional Development of Medical-Surgical Nurses in an Acute Care Hospital

The retention and professional development of the medical-surgical nurse is a challenging endeavor. Voluntary nurse turnover affects the collective costs of direct and indirect recruiting, productivity and training, and termination. These costs are estimated to be 0.75 to 1.30 times a nurse's average departing salary. The multifactorial dimensions of nursing retention remain a challenge for leaders at the organizational level. This article describes an educational strategy in the form of an advanced medical-surgical course used by a multicampus academic community Magnet (R) hospital to increase the retention and professional development of medical-surgical nurses. The authors report the goals, content, and outcomes of this advanced medical-surgical course. J Contin Educ Nurs 2012;43(7):309-314.