A Profession Disrupted: Looking Back to Go Forward.

Nurses face unprecedented harms from the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey by AMN Healthcare found that registered nurses experienced significantly elevated levels of stress, burnout, and other challenges that led nearly 1 million to consider leaving nursing altogether. Despite the challenges, a confluence of positive factors present great confidence that the nursing profession can bounce back and become much stronger due to lessons learned and hardships overcome during the pandemic. There is near-universal awareness that solving the significant challenges to nursing is vitally important, because the health of the American people depends on the health of the nation's nurses.

Creating a Healthier Workplace Environment in an Era of Rising Workforce Pressures.

Challenges in the nurse work environment, particularly those resulting from nurse shortages and the retirement wave, can affect the health and well-being of all Americans, not just nurses themselves or the health care organizations where they work. Many of the solutions to significantly expand the number of nurses in America will take many years to realize. However, there are some important changes that health care organizations can put into effect relatively quickly to enhance the work environment for nurses, which can improve care quality and safety, patient satisfaction, and the well-being of nurses. The biennial Survey of Registered Nurses by AMN Healthcare, which polled nearly 20 000 RNs, found that nurses are eager for many workplace changes that would create a healthier workplace while enhancing their professional and personal lives. These institutional changes also create opportunities for improving the health of the organizations themselves. Analysis of survey data found that improving professional development, flexibility and work-life balance, safety and team engagement, and organizational response to workplace violence can create a healthier workplace for nurses. These are known solutions that have yet to be fully engaged.

Health Care Evolution Is Driving Staffing Industry Transformation.

The powerful transformation in the health care industry is reshaping not only patient care delivery and the business of health care but also demanding new strategies from vendors who support the health care system. These new strategies may be most evident in workforce solutions and health care staffing services. Consolidation of the health care industry has created increased demand for these types of services. Accommodating a changing workforce and related pressures resulting from health care industry transformation has produced major change within the workforce solutions and staffing services sector. The effect of the growth strategy of mergers, acquisitions, and organic development has revealed organizational opportunities such as expanding capacity for placing physicians, nurses, and allied professionals, among other workforce solutions. This article shares insights into workforce challenges and solutions throughout the health care industry.