Nursing

Employees are the most important asset and expense to any organization and its long-term success; therefore, workforce planning and analytics should be a core strategic consideration for all businesses and its leaders. Strategic workforce planning and analytics deliver invaluable insights into your workforce that will lead to better decision making and place your organization in a position that will outpace competitors. From developing better hiring and retention strategies to improving patient outcomes, the data obtained is key.

Nearly all nurse managers agree that scheduling and staffing problems have a negative and lasting impact on staff morale. In fact, according to a recent AMN Healthcare report, 94 percent of nurse managers and registered nurses (RN) surveyed agreed that constant understaffing leads to low morale; and nearly 90 percent said it makes nurses feel that nobody appreciates their hard work. “When staffing is low, staff doesn’t have faith that it will ever get better,” a nursing manager says.

The nursing profession is one of the fastest growing and most in-demand occupations in the healthcare industry. In fact, according to Monster.com, registered nurse (RN) jobs are expected to see a rapid 22 percent growth by 2018.

Internships are vital for preparing young healthcare professionals for the challenges they’ll face in the industry. Partnerships between academic institutions and healthcare organizations can give students the internships they need to get real-world experience in a learning environment while helping healthcare organizations develop a talent pipeline, but they take a lot of effort on both sides.

As classes resume for everyone across the country, nursing educators have the unique challenge of developing our nation’s future nurses. It’s fairly well known that America is facing a nurse shortage, so a quality nursing education is critical for our healthcare system’s future. As we head into the final months of the year, I hope you find the following recent nursing insights helpful as you prepare your students for the demands of the nursing profession.

Although the job market for nurses is rapidly expanding, your job as an educator has never been more challenging. As you develop effective strategies to meet these challenges, you may find it helpful to step back for an overview of nursing education in the 21st century.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has established National Nurses Week as an annual event held May 6-12 to celebrate the role nurses play every day in delivering the highest level of quality care to their patients. This year’s theme,  “Culture of safety. It starts with YOU,” sets to honor nursing’s contribution to safety and collaboration in healthcare.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) established National Nurses Week as an annual event from May 6-12 to celebrate the role nurses play in delivering the highest level of quality care to their patients. This year’s theme, “Ethical Practice. Quality Care,” recognizes the importance of ethics in nursing and acknowledges the strong commitment, compassion, and care nurses display in their practice and profession.

National Nurses Week, May 6-12, is a great time to focus on nurse recruiting, retention and other issues healthcare HR must navigate when managing these special caregivers. With healthcare organizations expected to hire more than a million nurses before 2022 to meet growing demand and replace retirees, ensuring their recruiting and retention strategies are in top form will help them get the nurses they need.

Today’s demanding healthcare environment pressures employers to explore more effective and efficient means to manage licenses and certifications. Manual record systems, like spreadsheets and checklists, are cumbersome and expend invaluable time that can be used to address other key issues affecting healthcare organizations, such as improving patient outcomes and readmission rates.