Ever since I was a little girl and watched Danny Thomas on TV, I dreamed of visiting the hospital he began to help children, regardless of their ability to pay. I was in awe as I toured the beautiful building with whimsical beautiful murals from floor to ceiling. Anyone would feel healthier just stepping into the bright, sunny, positive environment!

But mostly I was in awe of the nurses and staff who care for kids with cancer every day in the 60 bed inpatient hospital and often as many as 300 in outpatient clinics. Many of these heroes have been there 10, 20 even 30 years!

Recruitment isn’t an issue there..lots of people want to work at this Top 100 hospital! The wise and caring coworkers focus on retention, caring for each other as they care for others.

I was privileged to give them life balance tools to help deal with the inevitable compassion fatigue. I think I left as inspired as they!

If I can help your nurses too, please contact me.

Washington state, like many others, is approaching its worst nursing shortage ever, in hospitals, medical office, long-term care facilities and schools.

Although some nurses are having trouble finding the jobs want, there are 2,300 registered nursing vacancies in Washington. As the economy improves, nurses who’ve delayed retirement will leave the workforce. Health care reform will make health care available to almost 300,000 more people in Washington just as baby boomers become eligible for Medicare. These changes mean higher demand for nurses.

Forward thinking people in that state include the Washington Center for Nursing. They submitted the Master Plan for Nursing Education to the Washington State Department of Health to transform nursing education in that state, based on extensive research conducted statewide with nurses, nurse educators and professionals.

Offering solutions, proposals in the Master Plan include increasing the ability of nurses and nursing students to pursue their educations. Other proposals ideas to deal with the shortage of faculty include raising salaries, diversifying faculty recruitment efforts, promoting mentoring, and providing additional teaching resources to new faculty.

If nothing changes by 2020, 30,000 registered nurse openings are expected. To meet this demand, graduation rates would need to increase by 400 per year, every year for 15 years.

How many nurses does your organization need today? How many more by 2020? How many nursing students are your colleges graduating?Do you have a Master Plan?

To learn more strategies to recruit the nurses you need today and in the future, contact me. Let’s plan the future together.

Science has proven that laughter increases endorphins, the production of cancer killing cells, and boosts your immune system. It truly is the best medicine. Recent research has shown that even smiling releases chemicals in the brain that improves moods.

So smile, chuckle, and laugh a little. It will boost moods, productivity and nurse retention!

When I speak at hospitals to help with nurse recruitment and retention, I suggest the creat a laughter bulletin board or cupboard front. One unit took my advice and all brought their prom pictures! Now that was funny!

What do you do to create laughter at work. Add a comment to share.

To learn more ways to bring laughter to the workplace,  contact me.

In the past year, however, this certainty has grown a bit shaky. Hospitals are reporting a downturn in elective procedures that tend to be paid for in full by the patient or his or her insurer, which means that some ORs are standing empty, waiting for the economy to rebound. This is particularly serious, as these most-profitable procedures are tailing off.

For some hospitals, however, the recession has enabled OR nurses to really gel as a team. In the past year, many have had a high level of nurse retention.

Do you have nurse retention needs at your hospital. As an expert on nurse recruitment and retention, I can help. Contact me.