Strengthening Israel's neonatal intensive care nursing workforce.

ABSTRACT

Israel is experiencing a shortage of both physicians and nurses in a number of specialties, including neonatal intensive care. Inadequate hospital staffing and high patient demand contribute to the blurring of professional scope of practice boundaries between nurses and physicians. Striking similarities exist between the situation in Israel and the health services landscape in the United States more than three decades ago. This commentary explores changes related to nursing education, scope of practice legislation and hospital staffing learned through the U.S. experience that have the potential to inform health workforce changes in Israel through better nursing care.