| Course | NSG 321 Advanced Leadership and Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Staff retention plan |
| Length | About 780 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | RN to BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 321 Unit 7
Keeping New Graduates Past Their First Year: A Retention Plan for a 34-Bed Telemetry Unit
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 321: Advanced Leadership and Management
Instructor Name
March 5, 2026
Keeping New Graduates Past Their First Year: A Retention Plan for a 34-Bed Telemetry Unit
The Unit's Turnover, Broken Down
Source: human resources separation data for 4 North, a composite 34-bed telemetry unit, covering February 2024 through January 2026. Nineteen registered nurses left in that period. Of the 23 new graduates hired, 11 left within their first 12 months, a first-year turnover of about 48%. Among the roughly 40 experienced nurses, 8 left over the two years, about 10% a year. The unit's overall turnover rate therefore hides the real picture: experienced nurses are leaving at an ordinary rate, while new graduates are leaving at close to three times the national first-year figure, which one large study placed at about 17% for newly licensed nurses (Kovner et al., 2014).
When They Leave
The departures cluster between months 4 and 9. None of the 11 left during orientation, which lasts 12 weeks. Seven left within four months of finishing orientation. This timing points at the transition from orientation to independent practice, not at hiring or at orientation itself.
What Leavers and Current Staff Said
Exit interviews were completed by 9 of the 11 new graduates who left. Because people leaving tend to be diplomatic, I also held stay interviews with 14 nurses in their second and third years, asking what kept them and what nearly made them leave. The two sources are reported separately.
Exit interviews: 7 of 9 described a sudden jump from a shared preceptor assignment to a full five-patient assignment the week orientation ended. Six said they were placed on night shifts where no nurse had more than two years of experience. Five had their preceptor changed during orientation, some more than once, because of scheduling. Four said they felt it was unsafe to ask questions of certain charge nurses.
Stay interviews: the nurses who stayed most often named one consistent preceptor, a charge nurse who checked in on them without being asked, and a group of new graduates who met informally and supported one another. Several described the same months 4 to 6 as the hardest period and said they had considered leaving.
What the Unit Controls and What It Does Not
Within the unit's control: preceptor assignment, the pace at which assignments increase after orientation, the experience mix on each shift, how often new graduates meet with the manager, and charge nurse behavior. Outside it: pay, the hospital's residency program, and the float policy, which sends newer nurses to other units first. The plan acts on the first group and raises the second with the director, without making the plan depend on it.
Interventions, Matched to the Reasons Found
Each intervention answers a reason the nurses gave, has an owner, and has a start date.
| Reason found | Intervention | Owner | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abrupt jump to a full load | Stepped assignment after orientation: four patients for weeks 13 to 16, then five | Charge nurses, with the assignment board showing who is stepped | April 1 |
| Preceptor changed mid-orientation | One primary and one backup preceptor, scheduled together on at least 80% of shifts | Unit scheduler and educator | April cohort |
| Nights with no experienced nurse | Scheduling rule: no night with more than two nurses under one year, and at least one nurse with three or more years | Unit scheduler | May schedule |
| Feeling unsafe asking questions | Charge nurse session on responding to questions; new graduates name a go-to charge nurse | Manager and educator | April staff meeting |
| Hardest period is months 4 to 6 | Manager check-ins at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, run as stay interviews | Nurse manager | Current cohort now |
| Peer support mattered | Monthly paid one-hour peer group for first-year nurses | Educator | April |
Evidence Behind the Approach
The interventions come from the unit's own findings, and the literature supports them rather than defining them. A national study of transition-to-practice programs found that new graduates in hospitals with established, structured programs reported fewer errors and lower turnover than those in hospitals without them (Spector et al., 2015). The stepped assignment and consistent preceptor extend that structure past the formal orientation period, into the months when this unit is losing people.
Cost
Peer group: 12 sessions a year, about 6 nurses, 1 paid hour, at an average rate of $42, about $3,000. Stepped assignment: one fewer patient for 12 shifts per new graduate is roughly 2.4 nursing hours per shift, about $1,200 per graduate, or $13,300 for 11 graduates a year. Total direct cost about $16,300 a year. Human resources estimates the cost of replacing one registered nurse on this unit at $52,000, in line with the order of magnitude reported in national retention surveys (NSI Nursing Solutions, 2024). Retaining two additional new graduates a year would offset the cost several times over; I present this as an illustration, not a forecast.
How Progress Will Be Measured
Primary measure: first-year turnover for each hiring cohort, tracked from the April cohort, with a target of 25% or less within two years. Process measures, reviewed monthly: percentage of orientation shifts worked with the primary or backup preceptor; percentage of night shifts meeting the experience mix rule; completion of 3, 6, 9, and 12 month check-ins. The check-ins also serve as an early warning, since a new graduate who says at month 6 that they are thinking of leaving can still be helped.
Raised With the Director
Two issues outside the unit's control will go to the director with this plan: exempting first-year nurses from floating for their first six months after orientation, and a precepting differential, since the plan asks more of preceptors. The plan proceeds whether or not these are approved.
References
Kovner, C. T., Brewer, C. S., Fatehi, F., & Jun, J. (2014). What does nurse turnover rate mean and what is the rate? Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 15(3-4), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154414547953
NSI Nursing Solutions. (2024). 2024 NSI national health care retention & RN staffing report. NSI Nursing Solutions.
Spector, N., Blegen, M. A., Silvestre, J., Barnsteiner, J., Lynn, M. R., Ulrich, B., Fogg, L., & Alexander, M. (2015). Transition to practice study in hospital settings. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 5(4), 24-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(15)30031-4
NSG 321 Unit 7 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 7 asks you to develop a staff retention plan for a unit. Expect to analyze turnover data, identify when and why staff leave, separate what the unit controls from what it does not, match interventions to reasons, estimate costs and set measures. Many versions ask what a stay interview is and whether timing of departures matters. Check whether your section expects a specific group, such as new graduates. Timing matters because it points to causes, such as the end of orientation. Stay interviews ask current staff why they remain, which balances exit interview bias. Interventions should answer the reasons found, not come from a generic list. Raise issues outside the unit's control with leadership.
How this NSG 321 Unit 7 example is built
The plan opens with turnover broken down by group and month. The timing section shows departures clustering after orientation. The reasons section summarizes exit and stay interviews, noting the bias in exit data. The control section separates unit-level factors from hospital-level ones. The interventions table matches each reason with an action, owner and start date. The evidence section shows the literature supports the unit's own findings. The cost section estimates each intervention. The measures section sets a cohort-based turnover target. The final section lists issues for the director. The plan's logic runs from data to reasons to interventions, which is what makes it more than a list of retention ideas.
Reading the NSG 321 Unit 7 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a retention plan usually covers turnover analysis, identification of reasons, separation of controllable factors, matched interventions, cost, measures and escalation. Graders look hardest at whether each action answers a reason the turnover data revealed. Turnover points reward breakdown by group and timing. Reason criteria look for exit and stay interviews. Cost earns credit for realistic estimates. Measures should be cohort-based. Escalation points go to issues raised with leadership. Stay interviews often earn credit because they correct the bias in exit data. Cost estimates with hours and rates are credited over a single total. Kovner's study of new nurse turnover and Spector's transition to practice study belong in the APA 7 list.
NSG 321 Unit 7 help: mistakes that cost points
Retention plans in Unit 7 often slip by listing popular interventions without checking why staff on this unit leave. Another frequent problem is using only exit interviews, which miss why others stay. Students often ignore timing of departures. Costs are missing. Measures track overall turnover rather than the target group. Factors outside the unit's control are promised as fixes. Owners are not named. Finally, match each intervention to a reason, because graders reward a plan built from the unit's own findings rather than one copied from a general list. Another gap is a target with no date, which makes the plan impossible to judge at the end of the year. Peer groups and stepped assignments should have owners who will still be on the unit next year.
Get a NSG 321 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 7 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 321 classroom, plus your unit's turnover figures and whatever exit or stay interview themes you can share. We write a custom example matching interventions to local reasons and pricing them against replacement, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
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NSG 321 Unit 7 questions, answered
What is a stay interview and why include one?
A conversation with staff who are still there about what keeps them and what would make them consider leaving. It produces better information than exit interviews, because people who have already resigned tend to be diplomatic and people who are staying will tell you what is fixable. A retention plan built only on exit data is working from the least candid source available.
Does the timing of departures matter?
Considerably. Losses concentrated in the first year point at onboarding, preceptorship and workload for new staff; losses among experienced nurses point at scheduling, advancement or leadership. The interventions differ entirely, so reporting a single turnover rate without the breakdown hides the information the plan most needs.
How do I cost a retention plan?
Against the cost of replacing somebody. Recruitment, orientation, preceptor time and the productivity of a new nurse for several months add up to a substantial figure per departure, and published estimates exist. Set your intervention cost beside the number of departures it might prevent, state the assumption, and the plan becomes a financial argument rather than a request.
Where can I find a free NSG 321 Unit 7 sample paper?
Read the NSG 321 Unit 7 retention plan free here, turnover analysis, matched interventions, costs and measures. Your own turnover data can anchor a custom plan.
Why do new graduate nurses leave in their first year?
Common reasons include assignments that increase too quickly after orientation, limited support and scheduling problems. This sample finds most departures between months 4 and 9 on a telemetry unit and matches interventions to the reasons nurses gave.