Impact of peer mentoring on nurse practitioner retention

Abstract

The Association of American Medical Colleges expects there to be a shortage of 54,000 to 139,000 primary care providers by 2033. Nurse practitioners (NP) can help fill that gap and improve access to care. Current literature suggests that there is a nationwide problem with nurse practitioner retention, providing evidence to address the high levels of turnover. Most of the available research has shown that peer mentoring as part of nurse practitioner onboarding can effectively help businesses retain NPs. Retention of NPs decreases organizational costs, as onboarding is a costly process. Poor retention of NPs decreases the availability of medical care to patients. This quality improvement project aims to provide evidence supporting the use of peer mentoring to enhance nurse practitioner retention and reduce organizational costs associated with repeated onboarding due to attrition.