Racial Disparities Affecting Hispanics in the UHC/AACN Nurse Residency Program

Hispanic nursing professionals are disproportionately affected by high-turnover and low-retention. However, programs successfully increasing first-year employment retention in hospitals, such as the UHC/AACN Nursing Residency Program (NRP), haven’t been investigated for racial disparities. Therefore, this study aimed to identify racial disparities in NRP retention rates and any associations to work-related stress and satisfaction factors. Retention rates among the two sub-cohorts of interest (Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites) were analyzed using Chi-square and adjusted residual post-hoc analysis. Then, the data collected from the NRP’s survey on stress/satisfaction factors were categorized to an additional level of ethnicity and analyzed using 3-way contingency tables and chi-square analysis. Results show Hispanic underrepresentation (3.5%) is substantial while the non-Hispanic white majority was over-represented (78.2%). Retention rates were significantly lower in the Hispanic cohort (94.9%; Z= -2.4) relative to the non-Hispanic white group (96.1%; Z=6.7) indicating racial disparities in program retention. All satisfaction factors (satisfaction with: salary, workplace responsibilities and supervisor feedback) were significantly associated with increased retention in both cohorts. On the other hand, stress in: personal life (stress-PL), finances (stress-F) and job-performance (stress-JP) were all found to decrease retention in the non-Hispanic white cohort (stress-PL:X²=16.59, p<0.001) (stress-F:X²=20.33, p<0.001) and (stress-JP:X² =7.404, p=0.007) but none were associated with decreased retention in the Hispanic cohort. These findings suggest that participant satisfaction may be contributing to program success in all groups. However, the sensitivity to stress seen in the non-Hispanic white cohort may be absent in the Hispanic group signaling possible underlying disadvantages in job-mobility and financial-stability.