The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reported an increase in nursing school enrollment throughout the past decade, yet qualified nursing school applicants continue to be turned away from colleges and universities.

AACN reports that in 2009, nursing schools rejected nearly 55,000 qualified applicants. Faculty shortages, budget constraints, and increasing job competition from clinical sites all contributed to the limited number of graduates.

Who do you know who would make a great nurse educator? How can your hospital work with area colleges to help educate and train nurses?

To learn more of my nurse recruitment and retention strategies and/or to have me speak at our facility to increase morale, retention and recruitment, contact me.

So why can’t I find a job? some ask.  Many of today’s nursing positions are calling for higher education and knowledge of technology. The nursing shortage is projected to continue for many years to come.   With more candidates in the marketplace and employers requiring specific skills, it can be difficult to get a job today, especially for new grads, eager to be recruited.

Adding business courses, technology, informatics, or even an advanced  degree can make you more marketable.

With the right combination of nursing education/background and professionalism, coupled with good communication and interviewing skills, many will find a job in today’s economy.

To learn more about how I can help recruit the nurses you need and retain the nurses you have, and to have me speak for your organization, contact me.

Pat Rutherford, MS, RN,  Vice President at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has several suggestions.

One strategy that makes a great difference is decreasing redundant documentation.

Another is moving supplies and equipment closer to where nurses are using them so they spend less time hunting and gathering.

A third is to move nursing workstations closer to where patients are.

Investing in these improvements will not only improve patient care and satisfaction, but nurse satisfaction too. This is the best way to recruit nurses and to retain nurses too.

To learn more ways to recruit and retain nurses, contact me. I’d love to speak to your hospital or organization to help you recruit the nurses you need and retain the best you have.

But even with a recent increase in nurses entering the work force, estimates for the next shortfall are significant.

Peter Buerhaus, professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University, wrote in a recent issue of the online medical journal Health Affairs, “Our projections indicate a shortfall of RNs developing around 2018 and growing to about 260,000 by 2025.”

While projections have improved of late, Buerhaus wrote, “The magnitude of the 2025 deficit would still be more than twice as large as any nurse shortage experienced since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s.”

To learn how I can help recruit the nurses you need and retain the best you have, Contact me.

The money will support nursing workforce development and education programs, as well as geriatric education and training programs.

The grants, issued under the Health Resources and Services Administration were a part of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Obama last March.

I’m eager to learn what other states received grant money, as this is a crucial step in recruiting nurses and ending our nursing shortage.

To learn more tools for nurse recruitment and retention, contact me to speak at your event or hospital.

Indeed, where once nursing grads could essentially write their own ticket and choose from several attractive job opportunities, some looking to enter our profession have had to settle for a position different from their goals.

Wise new grads will take this job, giving the best care possible as team player. When the recession ends and cut backs are eased, they can transfer into their position of choice.

Can I help you recruit the nurses you need and retain your new grads? Please contact me.

Their commitment to caring for their staff so remarkable, they gifted each nurse with a copy of my book, Balancing Life in Your ‘War Zones’, a Guide to Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health. The area TV news was impressed with their caring strategy and this great nurse retention tool.

Contact me …I’d love to help your hospital show your commitment to your nurses and their life balance too.

The ultimate goal of the 2-year joint RWFJ/IOM effort is to create a “blueprint for action” – a transformational report on the future of nursing.

“For healthcare reform to succeed, and for patients to receive better care at a cost we can afford, we must change the way healthcare is delivered. And nursing is at the heart of patient care.”

Nurses’ involvement in this process will increase nurse retention. Not only will it engage them, but in the end they will contribute to strategies to retain the tired over-worked workforce.

To learn how I can help you recruit the nurses you need and retain the best you have, contact me.

Scheduling changes, such as moving from eight-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts, meant that scheduling could be juggled to allow cutbacks without affecting nurses so dramatically.

Still, as I visit hospitals as an expert on nurse recruitment and retention, I hear that much more attention needs to be given to boosting nurse morale. This is the best nurse retention tool.

To learn how I can help with nurse recruitment and retention at your hospital, contact me.