We enter another cycle of University pre registration nursing programme offers with anticipation and hope for future recruitment in gastroenterology. Faced with a national shortage of nurses, the pressure is on the recruit more people into undergraduate registered nurse training, yet we face a decline in applicants. 

Without doubt, working in health care is demanding both physically and mentally, with work patterns and short staffing taking emotional toll on the individual. The reasons for staff leaving health care roles are varied and complex, with usually an interplay of multiple factors resulting in staff leaving (Ball et al., 2022; Pressley and Garside, 2023).

Whilst things that cause staff to leave are `push` factors, things that keep staff working in health care are `pull` factors (Glogowska et al, 2007). Equal important needs to be given to both perspectives when considering effective staff retention strategies - factors that caused staff to leave as well as  why they stay.  Gastroenterology offers both breath and depth of experiences, roles, specialisms and flexibility in working hours, yet suffers the same shortage of registrants as other areas in acute care. We have an opportunity to relook at enhancing staff retention in gastroenterology, to maintain both patient safety and increase staff satisfaction.

A number of initiatives have shown promise in relation to positive impact on staff retention, that we might learn from to maximise our specialities staffing we turn our gaze from what we seek to provide for our patients to what we actually also need ourselves, from basic physiological needs of rest, sleep, hygiene, hydration and nutrition; to feeling safe and secure in our working environments, with sufficient staffing levels, free from discrimination and with some flexibility in our working patterns; to feeling a sense of belonging, being supported, recognised, developed and in a culture of respect with effective leadership. 

We deserve for ourselves what we provide for others - gastroenterology nursing needs some self care.