Nurse Staffing Recommendations from a National Task Force
May 2023
94% of respondents to a recent national survey of nurses agree that there is a severe to moderate shortage of nurses in their area. Recognizing these concerns, a multi-organization task force led by the American Nurses Association and American Association of Critical Care Nurses has created a new document which details nurse staffing imperatives, recommendations, and actions. As part of the diverse team who participated in this work, APNA member and Vice President of Clinical Behavioral Health for HCA Healthcare Amy Rushton, DNP, PMHCNS-BC represented APNA, providing input from the perspective of psychiatric-mental health nursing.
While appropriate nurse staffing is crucial for optimal patient outcomes in all health care settings, this document focuses on acute and critical care. It offers five imperatives, each with associated recommendations to consider. Because staffing is a highly complex issue, the document does not make a single recommendation or advocate for a single solution. Rather, it strives to provide actions nurses can consider based on their circumstances. The task force also did not reach consensus on every action, and so what is found in this document is an inclusive list of all proposed strategies.
Nurse Staffing Task Force Definition of Appropriate Staffing
“A dynamic process that aligns the number of nurses, their workload, expertise, and resources with patient needs in order to achieve quality patient outcomes within a healthy work environment” (p.3)
Nurse Staffing Task Force Imperatives & Recommendations
Each of the five imperatives forms the umbrella for associated recommendations, actions to consider, and key partners. This executive summary table provides the imperatives with recommendations. View the full document to see associated actions to consider and key partners for each.
Nurse Staffing Task Force. Nurse Staffing Task Force Imperatives, Recommendations, and Actions. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and American Nurses Association; 2023.
Nurse Staffing Task Force. Nurse Staffing Task Force Imperatives, Recommendations, and Actions. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and American Nurses Association; 2023.
