Summary Recommendations of the Task Force

The critical shortage of qualified nurses projected within the next five years will have a profound effect on health care for New York's consumers well into this new century. By 2005, the demand for registered nurses in New York is projected to exceed supply by over 17,000 nurses. By 2015, the gap is expected to almost double. Failure to successfully address the problem will threaten the quality and safety of the entire health care system in this State, the welfare of consumers who depend on this system for patient care, and the future of the professionals who practice within this system.

At their second meeting, the Blue Ribbon Task Force on the future of nursing recommended the following solutions to the impending crises:

• Retention: Support initiatives to retain 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 which do not require licensure. These guidelines will reaffirm the individual practitioner's responsibility for patient care, even within demanding workplace settings.
    
    
  • Patient Abandonment: Familiarize field with existing Regents regulations which 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.

A myriad of solution options have been identified in the literature from experts around the country. The following criteria were used to select Task Force members' recommended solutions:

• May be achieved by some Task Force Members
• Will have significant impact on the shortage
• Is cost-effective
• Capitalizes on work already being done
• Contains long term benefits
• Optimizes quality patient care

This nursing shortage has developed over time as a result of many factors affecting the recruitment, retention and education of nurses as well as the conditions under which they work. Just as it has taken years for these factors to approach a crisis situation, the resolution of the problem will require collaborative efforts in all of these areas over time. The partnerships developed through the Task Force and the efforts initiated by them must endure and persist if the impending shortage of nurses is to be averted.