Human resources roles in nursing recruitment, retention, and legal compliance

Learning Experience Journal Entry #3:

Human resources personnel responsible for legal and regulatory affairs

Roles, functions: My observations

Nursing is fundamentally a 'human' discipline, requiring effective interpersonal interactions between nurses and patients. However, it is also imperative that nurses themselves have their human needs taken care of, given the stresses inherent to the profession. Nurses can benefit from effectively-constructed HR benefits packages and salaries; they also need to have someone to whom they can talk to if there are personal conflicts or more serious allegations of harassment and non-EEOC compliance. Through my shadowing, I observed how a representative of the human resource department responsible for legal and regulatory affairs plays a vital role in the day-to-day needs of nurses and the needs of the organization.

Leadership style

Nurses have often been criticized for 'eating their young' or treating new nurses harshly and 'hazing' them with unpleasant assignments or cold treatment. Having an HR department with a positive focus upon retention is one way to counteract this tendency: the leadership style needed is transformational in the sense that it connects company actions to a larger, uniting sense of mission but also has participatory elements in the manner in which it responds to employee concerns. For example, even the most idealistic mentorship programs must comply with the law, regarding the number of hours interns and students can work and mentorship programs must be managed in such a way that the experience is positive for the mentee yet does not place additional, burdensome duties upon the mentor not specified in her job description. When there is a conflict between any employees within the organization, the employees can go to HR for advice on how to proceed, either through company-based mediation or to seek other legal channels of redress if necessary. HR staff must be well-versed in the laws pertaining to employee conduct as well as the psychology of how persons interact daily in a hospital environment.

Another important component of HR leveraging its influence to improve recruitment and retention is providing counseling and support for nurses as they cope with the inevitable symptoms of nursing burnout. "Since the mid-1980s, however, nurses' work stress may be escalating due to the increasing use of technology, continuing rises in health care costs, and turbulence within the work environment" (Jennings 2008). Offering counseling to nurses, enabling them to balance their shifts with life demands, and attempting to instate fair and equitable compensation and leave policies are all essential. HR must ensure that nurses' hours comply with existing family leave regulations and that nurses who need to take time off for emotional and physical stress or reasonable accommodations are not penalized and are treated appropriately in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

In addition to staffing concerns, HR is also responsible for keeping nurses safe and must handle any OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) or related concerns. "It is suggested that occupational diseases and job-related mental or physical health problems should be continuously monitored as these problems may be linked to issues such as workers' compensation and nurse absenteeism. Promoting healthy nurse workforces should be one of the priorities of individual human resource functions" (Tzeng & Yin 2009). For example, when nurses deal with communicable diseases, appropriate precautions must be in place to protect worker's health. It may be necessary to require that nurses get the seasonal flu shot, for example and deal with the legal objections that might arise if nurses dispute this policy.

Conclusion: Lessons learned

As can be imagined from these varied duties, HR personnel must walk a tightrope between satisfying the needs of individual nurses and the collective needs of the organization. Healthcare organizations are ultimately service organization and nurses are one of the main conduits of care. As well as the legal requirements that pertain to the treatment of all employees, HR must be knowledgeable of the law and unique demands placed upon healthcare workers. Leadership in this field of endeavor requires tact, diplomacy, and sensitivity, and a comprehensive understanding of what the organization can and should do, based upon legal, economic, and political constraints.