By Marcia Faller, PhD, RN, Chief Clinical Officer, AMN Healthcare

Millennial nurses place a higher premium on professional development, quality measure transparency and other factors than their older peers. They’re also more likely to change jobs to get what they want. 

These were among the key takeaways from a new report by AMN Healthcare, Survey of Millennial Nurses: A Dynamic Influence on the Profession, which offers many insights about millennial nurse expectations for the work environment.

Millennials (ages 19-36) are now the largest generation in the U.S. labor force, making up 35% of American workers.  This trend takes on particular significance in the healthcare industry where unprecedented workforce shortages have created recruitment challenges, particularly for qualified nurses.

The new report provides millennial nurse opinions based on data gathered in the AMN 2017 Survey of Registered Nurses, completed by 3,347 RNs. The millennial nurse responses were extracted and compared to those from Generation X, or Gen Xers, (ages 37-53) and baby boomer nurses (ages 54-71). 

The following are some highlights from the survey: [Read more…]

By Lorina Marshall-Blake

Nearly every day an exciting development or challenge in health care surfaces: new technology, novel ideas about how to control costs, improvements in patient care. Yet, as far-reaching as many of these advances may be in their ability to truly change health care for the better, one basic tenet remains unchanged. That’s the critical and integral role nurses play in keeping people well and caring for the sick or injured.

Most health care experiences start and end with a nurse, whether it’s an RN checking your vitals before a doctor’s appointment, or reviewing your discharge instructions after a hospital stay, for example. In addition, nurses often serve as strong patient advocates, the liaison between families and medical staff helping to ensure patients receive the care they need.

So, consider for a moment, what would happen if the number of trained nurses suddenly dramatically dipped?

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), we are on the cusp of a serious nursing shortage. By 2022, the ANA estimates there will be far more registered nursing jobs available than any other profession — more than 100,000 per year. With more than 500,000 seasoned Registered Nurses (RNs) expected to retire by 2022, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for 1.1 million new RNs for expansion and replacement of retirees to avoid a nursing shortage. This shortage is especially problematic when you consider that there are fewer nursing teachers in our universities, and an aging U.S. population, which means more sick and hospitalized people.

Everyone benefits from a thriving and well-trained nursing work force, but no industry has a more vested interest than those of us who make our living in health care.



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By Jennifer Dixson Hoff and F. Patrick Robinson

In our previous article, we explored some emerging trends that have been discussed by Capella University’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences Advisory Board – including the generational evolution and the importance of connecting with millennial nurses for the benefit of the entire hospital. By taking strides to understand these types of workforce dynamics, hospitals and health care organizations can address important priorities like nursing engagement and retention.

Today, many of the organizations we work with are calling for more evidence-based strategies to retain nurses. In this article, we will provide a forward-thinking approach to incorporate learning and professional development across the career spectrum for their nurses in 2018 and beyond.

Nursing retention by the numbers

An inadequate strategy for developing and retaining nursing talent can potentially jeopardize patient satisfaction and harm an organization’s reputation. In Aberdeen Group’s research, Managing and Leading Human Capital in 2015 and Beyond: A Healthcare Perspective, 86 percent of 100 health care organization leaders interviewed said that talent plays and important role in determining satisfaction scores they receive from patients. 

Unfortunately, quick-burnout and turnover of nurses remain pervasive problems in the industry today. Consider the statistics highlighted in the 2017 NSI Nursing Solutions National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report:

• The national average turnover rate for bedside RNs was at 14.6 percent in 2016. More than a quarter (25.6 percent) of all new hires left their position within a year – accounting for approximately one-third (29.4 percent) of all turnover.
• The average cost of turnover for a bedside RN ranges from $38,900 to $59,700. This results in the average hospital losing $5.13 – $7.86 million annually.

With so much on the line, from driving quality care to maintaining operating budgets, hospitals and health care organizations must take a strategic view of their workforce in alignment with their overall organizational objectives. 

[Read more…]

By Jennifer Dixson Hoff

At Capella University, our School of Nursing and Health Sciences Advisory Board is comprised of leading health care leaders who provide practice-relevant insight on current and emerging industry trends. The board has recently discussed the challenges surrounding nurse engagement and retention, which we feel will remain major priorities for nursing leaders heading into the New Year. But, to understand these priorities moving forward, it’s important to take a step back and revisit where we’ve been.

A generational progression continues to unfold as millennials play a bigger and bigger role in the nursing workforce. Heading into next year, we feel that leaders in nursing and health care will want to think strategically about the positive impact millennials are having on organizational objectives – and how they can harness the qualities of these individuals to improve retention and engagement across the spectrum.

A Generational Evolution

Over the past few years, we’ve hit some key inflection points that define just how dominant the millennial generation has become in today’s workplace. Consider the trends outlined in recent Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data:

• In 2015, millennials became largest generation in the workforce with more than one-in-three American workers being a millennial.
• In 2016, millennials surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation.

This evolution creates unique challenges for hospitals and health care organizations today. Like the generations before them, millennials are distinct in their views and priorities, and understanding their ideals can help health care leaders keep up with the changing workforce currents. Millennials also possess values and skill sets that are well-aligned for the nursing field today, attributes that organizations can use to advance their missions.  [Read more…]

By Mauricio Silva, M.D.

With fewer and fewer medical school students choosing primary medicine as a career path, our healthcare system needs to find new ways to provide care to a nation that is growing, aging and increasingly consumer driven. Fortunately we need not look too far as the answer is already in our midst. These are our nurse practitioners.

Even before the Affordable Care Act added millions of insured Americans in need of medical attention, the Association of American Medical Colleges estimated that an additional 45,000 primary care physicians would be needed by 2020 to keep up with demand. This simply isn’t going to happen as an increasing number of medical school students are opting instead for specialties that may bring with them higher income, more prestige and a less-demanding lifestyle. Nurse practitioners can fill this gap in providing the care Americans need.

Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who have completed graduate-level education (either a master’s or a doctoral degree) and who are able to deliver a wide range of primary, acute and specialty-care services. While laws governing what nurse practitioners can or can’t do vary by state, in most cases these healthcare professionals are already prescribing or renewing prescriptions for most drugs; ordering blood tests; performing routine physical examinations; monitoring chronic conditions; counseling patients about prevention; and treating colds, sore throats and the flu. [Read more…]