The Relationship between the Implementation of Nursing Internship and Nurse Recruitment:

Based on Survey in Kanagawa Prefecture

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between implementation of nursing intern-ship and recruitment. A questionnaire survey was conducted of 348 nurse administrators who work at hospitals in Kanagawa prefecture. The questionnaire covered the following: personal attributes, intern-ship implementation (14 items), environmental factors (12 items). 183 responses were valid (52.6%).

1. Among the hospitals funded by the national government and publicly funded hospitals, the rate of internship implementation was higher in hospitals with more beds and higher staffing levels.

2. In the internship-implementation group, the ratio of nurses recruited after doing a nursing internship in a hospital to the total number of nurses recruited there throughout the year was related to the fol-lowing factors: whether the departments accepting the intern nurses in the hospital understand the implementation situation; whether it is clarified that the internship is different from a hospital visit; whether the method for collecting the intern nurses is discussed; whether the cost of accommodation is covered for the intern nurses; and whether the hospital continuously strives to increase the num-ber of nurses who will apply for the internship.

3. The rate of success in recruiting nurses was higher in the internship group than in the non-internship group.

When the internship-implementation group was compared with the internship-non-implementation group, there were differences in attributes of the hospital, the environments and conditions for imple-menting the nursing internship, and the success rate in recruiting nurses. Implementation of internship and improvement in the hospital environments are related to each other, which may affect the success rate in recruiting nurses.