Knowing it’s going to take a lot of brainpower to solve the nursing shortage problem, five organizations have joined to form the Nurse Staffing Task Force.
Composed of front-line nurses, nurse leaders, CFOs, CEOs and HR representatives, the think tank was started by Partners for Nurse Staffing.
It is a collaboration among:
“Healthcare is a human business. Hospitals can add all the rooms, beds and equipment they want, but none of that matters without nurses there to take care of sick patients,” AACN president Beth Wathen, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, said earlier this month. “For years, usual and accepted staffing models have viewed nursing as an expense, not an investment. And yet, there is ample evidence that links appropriate nurse staffing with optimized nursing care and improved patient outcomes.”
The think tank met six times during the first three months of the year and determined six priorities to address the nursing shortage. They also developed strategies to accomplish their goals.
These are:
Healthy work environment: Get federal regulation passed that makes nurse safety — both mental and physical — of equal importance with patient safety.
Diversity, equity and inclusion: Implement Inclusive Excellence, integrating DEI ideals into everything from resource allocation to daily operations.
Work schedule flexibility: Make the workplace more flexible through scheduling, shifts and roles.
Stress injury continuum: Retain nurses by addressing burnout, moral distress and compassion.
Innovative care delivery models: Improve access, patient and staff experience, and resource management through onsite care delivery, IT integration of patient monitoring equipment, and ambulatory access and virtual/remote care delivery.
Total compensation: “Develop an organization-wide formalized and customizable total compensation program for nurses that is stratified based on market intelligence, generational needs and an innovative and transparent pay philosophy that is inclusive of benefits such as paid time off for self-care and wellness and wealth planning for all generations.”
“Addressing workforce challenges is the top priority in health care. We can’t provide health care and services to our communities without our workforce,” said AONL CEO Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. “Bringing together those who deliver care and those who ensure sustainability of care delivery is critical to developing outcomes-based staffing models, improving value and fostering a healthy practice environment to engage nurses and support resilience and well-being.”
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