Nursing profession must be reinvented to ease personnel shortages, according to U...( Center for Health Professions and a co-...),Health

As a consequence, careers in health care have become less attractive relative to other industries, said Coffman, adding that the problem is compounded by the fact that nursing has traditionally been known as a women's profession. "The fairly recent expansion in opportunity for women means that the health professions can no longer count on a large number of young women entering the profession. This means that nursing will have to re-position itself as an attractive career to compete successfully for the interest of people entering the work force."

"These trends suggest that wage increases, signing bonuses and image campaigns are not sufficient to alleviate this crisis," said O'Neil. "Young people are looking for careers that offer autonomy, flexibility and the chance to participate in the management of the organizations in which they work."

The researchers made the following recommendations for improving the nursing work environment:

Leaders in health care and unions representing RNs should partner with one another to strengthen trust between labor and management.
Senior health care executives need to constantly evaluate their organizations, engage RNs in these efforts, and take seriously their assessment of current practices and suggestions for addressing problems.
Health care organizations should invest in the retention of RNs. Specific recommendations include elimination of mandatory overtime and the provision of greater financial rewards for experienced RNs, financial incentives for RNs to complete further education, and adequate sick leave.
Unions representing RNs should place greater emphasis on career development and nurses' participation in the management of organizations in which they work.

The system of nursing education also ne
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Contact: Maureen McInaney
mmcinaney@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
4-Feb-2001