Up
Front
Window
of opportunity
NurseWeek
and AONE prepare to launch national RN study to better assess
nursing shortage
Tim Graham, Editorial
Director
April
9, 2001
Over
the years, I’ve been involved in more public opinion and
market research surveys than I care to remember. So ordinarily
I wouldn’t bother you about one before it’s even launched.
But an exception is in order here, because what I’m about
to share goes beyond anything conducted purely for journalistic
reasons. Indeed, this is a study designed not to make news,
although I suspect it will produce plenty, but to provide
vital information for health care planners and patient care
executives working to address the nursing shortage.
NurseWeek
and the American Organization of Nurse Executives are
jointly preparing to conduct a landmark national survey
of registered nurses to learn their career intentions and
perceptions of their work environment. The results will
assist those doing workforce planning, as the nation seeks
solutions to the worsening nursing shortage.
The
survey, to commence next month, will be conducted by a nationally
recognized research firm. The effort will be funded by NurseWeek
and cosponsored by the AONE Institute for Patient Care
Research and Education.
"This
survey will provide a window into the hearts and minds of
America’s nurses," said Deloras Jones, MS, RN, a renowned
nursing and health care consultant who is leading the project
effort. It’s an honor for all of us here at NurseWeek
to work with Jones, whose distinguished career was celebrated
last month when Kaiser Permanente established a $280,000
nursing scholarship fund that bears her name.
Jones
said she believes the results, set for release in the fall,
will provide a detailed assessment of how nurses feel about
their jobs and their future work plans. Moreover, she said,
the survey will be repeated the next four years, thus establishing
a database that permits comparison over time.
The
advisory board for this project includes Peter Buerhaus,
Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the Valere Potter Professor of Nursing
and senior associate dean for research at Vanderbilt University
School of Nursing, Karen Sechrist, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Mary
Blegen, Ph.D., RN, and Dr. Karen Donelan. All are widely
acclaimed leaders in the study of nursing workforce planning
and research. Karen Haase-Herrick, MN, RN, executive director
of the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives, represents
AONE on the advisory board.
Working
closely with the advisory team are NurseWeek’s four
RN editors: Beth Ulrich, Ed.D., RN (South Central); JoEllen
Koerner, Ph.D. RN, FAAN (Midwest); Barbara Brown, Ed.D.
RN, FAAN (Mountain West); and Carol Bradley, MSN, RN (California).
Apart
from its anticipated contributions to the body of knowledge
about the nursing workforce, the survey is a significant
development in the growth of NurseWeek itself. Our
participation in such a bold national initiative is testimony
to the vision of our president, Peter Sprague, who, since
joining us last year, has exhorted everyone in our organization
to think more globally.
"We
are excited about the opportunity to partner with AONE on
this important and unprecedented initiative," Sprague
said. "As an organization, we are committed to contributing
the financial and intellectual resources to help secure
solutions for a host of pressing issues affecting the nursing
profession."
Pamela
A. Thompson, MSN, RN, executive director of AONE, said she’s
pleased that NurseWeek recognizes the need for research
into the career intentions and workplace perceptions of
the nation’s 2.5 million registered nurses. "We expect
this survey to provide unique, important and useful information."
It became
abundantly clear to me last month at the AONE 34th annual
convention in Long Beach, Calif., that the urgency of finding
solutions to workforce and other issues is being felt by
everyone who has anything to do with health care. Dick Davidson,
president of the American Hospital Association, drew tremendous
applause when he made it clear that the workforce shortages
are at the top of his agenda.
Within
days, Davidson announced the creation of a blue-ribbon panel
that will spend the next year developing a blueprint for
addressing immediate and long-term shortages of personnel
throughout the health care system. Peter Butler, president
and CEO of Methodist Health Care System in Houston, will
chair the AHA commission.
In the
meantime, we invite you to share your thoughts on the shortage
and other issues in nursing. Join online discussions with
your colleagues at www.nurseweek.com. You can even tell
us which is more important to you, money or autonomy. It’s
not scientific, of course, it should provide a snapshot
of the intensity of feeling on this question.
