EVALUATING NURSE TURNOVER - COMPARING ATTITUDE SURVEYS AND EXIT INTERVIEWS

High turnover rates among hospital nurses demand rigorous and valid pr ocesses of research to determine the reasons motivating such attrition . In most hospitals, the exit interview often provides the only releva nt data. The case study reported here examines the relative effectiven ess of exit interviews and an employee attitude survey in generating d ata that are useful in managing nurse retention. The conclusion reache d is that the attitude survey generates more data and higher-quality d ata. Further, the study shows that the use of open-ended questions can provide useful information and probably should be the starting point in developing or supplementing an attitude survey for nurses. Recommen dations for improving the usefulness and validity of nurse attitude su rveys and exit interviews in managing nurse retention are provided.