7 Executive Strategies to Stabilize the Nursing Workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated long-standing challenges in the workforce, resulting in a shortage of nurses that has now reached crisis levels. At the same time, there is a concerning "skills gap" that has been emerging for some time. Leaders have typically relied on legacy recruitment and retention strategies to mitigate these challenges, but these will not be sufficient to address staffing gaps. In this article, the authors discuss how current staffing challenges differ from previous workforce shortages and propose 7 executive strategies for C-suite leaders to prepare for the future nursing workforce.

A 4-Part Strategy to Engage Frontline Nurses in Cultural Humility.

Although many clinical leaders use the cultural competency model to help clinicians deliver equitable care, evidence on the model's effectiveness is mixed. In this article, the authors propose that nursing leaders adopt cultural humility as a framework that better positions nurses to build trust, engage patients in their care, and improve health outcomes. This article outlines 4 strategies that leaders can use to actively engage staff in cultural humility and support the cultural transformation required to mitigate the impact of clinician bias in care delivery.

Nursing's Staffing Mandate: Build a More Flexible Workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemic exhausted the nursing workforce, casting doubt that future supply will meet demand. To preserve their workforces, nursing leaders are offering emotional support to the frontline. Although these efforts are essential, leaders are overlooking an untapped opportunity to safeguard staffing levels: creating a more flexible nursing workforce. In this article, the authors discuss flexible nurse staffing and suggest 4 key opportunities for improvement.

An Executive Strategy to Support Long-Term Clinician Engagement Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left frontline staff burned out and exhausted. Meanwhile, executives need to ask more of their staff to ensure organizational viability. In this article, the authors propose that executives commit to taking specific actions to create a more supportive work environment and form an executive-clinician compact. This article outlines the 5 actions executives should take to bolster staff engagement and resilience long-term.

The Challenging Road to Clinical Competence for New Graduate RNs.

Despite increased onboarding and training for new graduate RNs, it is taking longer for nurses to develop clinical competence in today's complex care environment. At the same time, hospitals and health systems are facing a shortage of experienced nurses. If left unaddressed, patient quality and safety could be at risk.

Closing Nursing's Experience-Complexity Gap.

Hospitals and health systems are facing a new kind of shortage among the nursing workforce: a shortage of experience. As older nurses retire and the influx of new nurses continues to grow, the net effect is a decline in the overall experience of the nursing workforce. At the same time, care delivery is becoming more complex. We call this phenomenon "the experience-complexity gap." If left unaddressed, the experience-complexity gap will widen and could put quality and safety at risk. In this article, the authors explore this new challenge and suggest 3 key strategies for addressing it.