CCNA and Health Affairs Release Special Issue on the Nursing Workforce and Health Reform
Submitted by bakinwole on Jun 11, 2009
Jun 11, 2009 | Journal Articles
Abstract
Addressing the Nursing Workforce: A Critical Element for Health Reform
John Rother and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
For health reform to be effective and the U.S. economy to recover, we must build, empower, and deploy a 21st century health care nursing workforce. Nurses will deliver, coordinate and direct care in hospitals and community-based and home settings, but these nurses will be in short supply unless we address the nursing and nurse faculty shortages.
The Recent Surge in Nurse Employment: Causes and Implications
Peter I. Buerhaus, David I. Auerbach and Douglas O. Staiger
The continuing recession will ease or even end the current nursing shortage in many areas of the country, but the results will be temporary: the United States will face a significant shortage of nurses by 2025. Hospitals and policy-makers should use this respite to strengthen the nursing workforce by addressing issues associated with an increasingly older workforce. Policy-makers should also implement policies to increase the capacity of nursing education programs to avoid future imbalances in the nurse labor market.
Education Policy Incentives to Address the Nurse Shortage in the United States
Linda H. Aiken, Robyn B. Cheung and Danielle M. Olds
Employment opportunities for Registered Nurses (RNs) are expected to grow much faster than for other occupations, yet the U.S. is predicting a nursing shortage by 2020. We have a historic opportunity to prevent the nursing shortage by acting now to expand nursing school enrollments at a time when applications are at an all-time high, but we must first address the nurse faculty shortage and financially-strapped colleges and universities. Increased public subsidies are needed to provide greater access to nursing education, with an emphasis on baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, where job growth is expected to be greatest.
Expanding the Capacity of Nursing Education
Brenda L. Cleary, Angela Barron McBride, Maggie McClure and Susan C. Reinhard
The U.S. must ensure a sufficient nursing workforce to care for a more diverse and aging population. To do this, we must change the way nursing education is delivered so that vacant faculty positions are filled and other educational resources bolstered.
The Role of Nurses in Improved Hospital Quality and Efficiency: Real-World Results
Jack Needleman and Susan Hassmiller
Discussions of hospital quality, cost control and hospital nursing care must be integrated. Because the staffing and organization of hospital nursing affects quality and cost, nurses must be actively involved in process improvement directed at quality and efficiency. Magnet accreditation and the Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) program show how nurses and staff, supported by leadership, can lead the improvement of health care quality and efficiency.
Nursing: A Key to Patient Satisfaction
Ann Kutney Lee, Matthew D. McHugh, Douglas M. Sloane, Jeannie P. Cimiotti, Linda Flynn, Donna Felber Neff and Linda H. Aiken
This paper examines the relationship between nursing and patient satisfaction across 430 hospitals, in light of the fact that patient satisfaction is receiving greater attention due to the rise in pay-for-performance. Patients’ reports of satisfaction are higher in hospitals where nurses practice in better work environments or with more favorable patient-to-nurse ratios. Improving nurses’ work environments, including nurse staffing, may improve patients’ experiences and their quality of care.