Factors influencing the recruitement and retention of nurses in the Nzema East District

Abstract

Recruitment and retention of nurses is very crucial in the human resources and development of the Ghana Ministry of Health. The exodus of Ghanaian nurses to seek greener pastures has created a lot of problems in the area of staff recruitment and retention. This article examines (a) the factors that attract nurses to the Nzema East District (NED); (b) reasons nurses give for accepting to go on transfer to NED; (c) factors that militate against the continuous stay of nurses in the NED; (d) factors that enhance the continued stay of nurses' of NED; (e) the motivating factors nurses recommend for their retention. The outcome of the research were as follows: (o)Marrioge formed the greatest retentive factor for nurses in NED; (b) nurses aged above 45 years preferred working in their own districts, but younger nurses preferred working in places away from their home towns; (c) midwives formed the largest grade and were most highly retained nurses in NED. Push factors for nurses in NED were identified as; (a) lock of transportation to implement outreach programmes; (b) lack of opportunity in the district for further education; (c) lack of accommodation and (d) dissatisfaction with Additional Duty Hours Allowance (ADHA). The research was done in 2004 for a Dissertation, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the MA Degree in Educational Administration, University of Cape Coast.