TDNet Discover

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and enhance onboarding and retention strategies for Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) in remote urgent telemedicine roles within the Urgent Care Telemedicine Center. For the purposes of this research, onboarding and retention strategies refer to organizational processes, support systems, and engagement initiatives. The strategies are designed to facilitate clinician integration, clarify role expectations, and foster long-term commitment to virtual urgent care practice. The theory guiding this study is a triad of frameworks: Organizational Socialization Theory, Kotter’s Change Management Theory, and Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, which collectively explain how structured onboarding, organizational support, and motivational factors influence clinician and retention in digitally mediated healthcare settings. A mixed-methods ethnographic design will be employed, integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess the effectiveness of virtual onboarding and mentoring interventions. The primary research question explores how structured onboarding and mentorship programs impact APC retention and job satisfaction in remote urgent care roles. The setting is a nationwide telemedicine organization operating a centralized urgent care call center. The sample includes 15-20 APCs who have completed onboarding within the past 12 months. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews, focus groups, open ended surveys, virtual observations, and review of organizational metrics such as attrition rates and onboarding completion times. Quantitative data will be examined through descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, while qualitative data will undergo thematic analysis. The study seeks to produce evidence-based recommendations aimed at optimizing onboarding processes, enhancing practitioner effectiveness, mitigating turnover, and promoting workforce sustainability within virtual care settings.