The COVID-19 pandemic years were marked by significant staffing shortages, but more recently, many major health systems have seen nurse staffing levels stabilize. While a welcome trend, recruitment and retention remain core priorities for healthcare C-suites to build on that stabilization in the year ahead, as the nation still faces a projected deficit of more than 63,000 nurses by 2030.
In 2025, leaders are shifting focus away from short-term measures like sign-on bonuses to implement strategies with long-term impact. These include innovative workforce models, long-term career development opportunities, fostering engagement between novice and experienced nurses, and deeper connections with local high schools to strengthen the pipeline.
Below are responses from four chief nursing officers at some of the nation's largest hospitals and health systems to the following question: What is your top area of focus for improving nurse recruitment and retention in 2025?
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Meredith Foxx, MSN, APRN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Cleveland Clinic: Nursing is a rewarding profession with endless growth opportunities. As we focus on attracting new talent and retaining our workforce in 2025, we will showcase nursing as a profession full of purpose, opportunity and potential for both personal and professional development. For recruitment, we will continue working closely with our Talent Acquisition team to engage nursing students, recent graduates and experienced nurses and ensure they are aware of Cleveland Clinic job opportunities that offer clear career advancement paths. A key part of this effort is empowering current nurses to share their personal "why" and inspire future nurses. Our focus on retention is similar, prioritizing opportunities for nurses to grow professionally and personally.
Gay Landstrom, PhD, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.): Retaining and recruiting top nursing talent are always priorities for us at Trinity Health. We focus on offering opportunities that support nurses for the duration of their careers — from their first year of employment through retirement.
Nurses are the backbone of healthcare and play a vital role in driving our transformation through nurse-led innovations like our TogetherTeam virtual connected care model and FirstChoice, our internal staffing and travel nurse agency. These initiatives provide nurses with a healthy work environment with flexible options to meet their needs throughout their careers.
Our TogetherTeam model features a unique, team-based approach, pairing two direct-care RNs — one virtual and one at the bedside — with a care partner , which truly allows nurses to work at the top of their license. The vRN role, reserved for experienced nurses, allows expert nurses to continue doing what they love later in their careers. At the same time, early career nurses gain confidence and skills through this mentorship and collaboration.
We are also focused on expanding our FirstChoice program in 2025 as we enhance technology and operations to drive market growth and proactive mobile staffing solutions. By prioritizing initiatives that empower and support our nurses, we foster a culture where they feel valued, supported and equipped to thrive.
Denise Mihal, BSN, RN. Executive Vice President, CNO and Clinical Operations Officer of Novant Health (Winston-Salem, N.C.): There is no single solution to improve nursing recruitment and retention. Meeting the needs and expectations of our current and future team members requires creativity, flexibility, communication and perseverance.
In the recruitment space, we will continue to transform our application and centralized hiring processes, making it easier and faster for nurses to find the setting, leader and team at Novant Health that's right for them. We will also continue to expand our ANCC-accredited, year-long nurse residency program, which has grown by nearly 50% since 2022 with retention rates between 85% and 100% for new nurses, compared to the national average of 67%. Additionally, we will continue to build the pipeline of future healthcare workers through paid internship opportunities for students, educational assistance programs from our team members and enhanced relationships with high schools and higher education institutions.
From a retention perspective, Novant Health has an ongoing review of compensation to ensure we offer market-competitive rates and bonus opportunities. Our engagement surveys have demonstrated that our nurses stay because of their relationship with their one-up manager, which validates our continued investment in nursing leadership growth and development opportunities. These opportunities include our nurse leadership academy, our nursing shared governance structure and our use of clinical instructor partners, which allows nurses to teach a nursing practicum for a local school of nursing.
These are just a few examples of our focus areas for 2025. We are invested in the long-term success of our nurses and will continue to develop solutions to ensure they receive the support they need to deliver remarkable care to our patients and communities while thriving in their careers.
Sylvain Trepanier, DNP, RN. CNO of Providence (Renton, Wash.): Nurse recruitment and retention will remain a significant priority in the coming year. Let's not forget we will face a considerable nursing shortage worldwide by 2030. To that end, we suggest focusing on what seems to be most important to nurses right now: competitive pay, a safe environment to practice, an ability to inspire their practice, and a sense that they belong and they feel seen. More specifically, we must focus on connecting. We know meaningful engagement with nurses significantly impacts our ability to retain them. Lastly, nurses like to engage, and the best way to do so is by creating a professional governance structure that allows them to own their practice.