The issues related to nurse staffing are complex. Following are a few ideas for moving forward.
- Include direct care nurses in staffing decisions while leaders and administrators have expertise regarding staffing, input from direct care nurses who understand the work is crucial. Direct care nurses must be represented in all staffing decisions.
- Implementation of appropriate staffing also involves examining how nurses spend their time. For example, members from one innovative unit shared their efforts to decrease patient falls. In examining care delivery, they realized that nurses spent a lot of time moving back and forth across the unit.
