continued

At the September 7 meeting, the Task Force finalized its recommendations and released them to the public. The recommendations of the Task Force included the following areas for action:

• Retention: support initiatives to retain the current nursing workforce, including pursuit of best practice principles such as the magnet hospital model.
• Recruitment: expand the nursing workforce by recruiting additional numbers of men, minorities, non-practicing nurses, and recent high school graduates.
• Education: provide additional academic and financial support systems to increase the pool of nursing school graduates and create career ladders.
• Technology: increase the application of labor-saving technology to eliminate unnecessary, duplicative paper work and improve access to and communication of patient information, thereby improving workplace conditions.
• Data Collection: develop a reliable central source of data on the future need for nurses in the workforce upon which employers, policy makers, futurists, researchers and legislators may base public policy and resource allocations.
• Clarify Existing Laws and Regulations:
  • Scope of Practice for Nurses: issue practice guidelines to clarify the legal scope of practice of nursing, including those tasks that do not require licensure. These guidelines will reaffirm the individual practitioner's responsibility for patient care, even within demanding workplace settings.
  • Patient Abandonment: familiarize the field with existing Regents regulations that describe patient abandonment--clarifying that refusal to work a double shift or other mandatory overtime in ordinary circumstances does not necessarily constitute professional misconduct. This information will be provided to nurses, hospitals, nursing homes and home care agency administrators.

Nearly every member of the Task Force represented an organization with initiatives already underway to address the nursing shortage. For example, numerous educational programs have been developed to help existing nursing staff deal with current pressures, to promote magnet- hospital principles, and to improve reward and recognition for current nursing staff. In addition, a number of joint meetings have already been held and several coalitions formed to address specific regional issues.

In light of recent State budget developments, the planned Forum on the Nursing Shortage has been postponed until further notice. The Forum was originally scheduled for October 29 as one of the follow-up activities to the Regents Blue Ribbon Task Force.