Abstract
The Health Resources and Services Administration's Nurse Corps program offers loan repayment and scholarships in exchange for service commitments in underserved areas and schools of nursing.
This study describes the extent and predictors of nurse retention in these areas after program participants' service commitments are complete.
Survey data from current participants and program alumni (N = 4,890) were merged with administrative data for the analysis.
About 80.8% of all alumni respondents were retained at the time of the survey; even 6 years after their commitments ended, 76.0% remained in underserved areas or schools of nursing. Satisfaction with the Nurse Corps service site and burnout were key predictors of retention.
The Nurse Corps program has been successful in meeting its goal of increasing access to nursing care in underserved areas. Interventions are discussed to increase satisfaction and reduce burnout to maximize retention of nurses in underserved areas.