Increasing salaries for nurses to closely mirror clinical salaries and supporting new investments in nurses' mental health were among the ideas presented Oct. 7 by an Oregon nurses union to improve retention in the field, according to statements emailed to Becker's.
Recommendations for nurse retention:
- Pause plans for returning to a high productivity “business as usual” model.
- Honor legally required meal and rest breaks for nurses and end all buddy break system policies.
- End practice of relying on traveling nurses.
- Support new investments in nurses’ mental health.
- The governor and the Oregon Health Authority should create a commission to engage in a systemic review of Oregon’s overall healthcare system’s staffing.
Recommendations for nursing education and workforce:
- Increase salaries of nursing faculty to closely mirror clinical salaries.
- Consider tax credits and loan forgiveness grants for nursing faculty.
- Explore ways to address clinical placement challenges for nursing students.
- Philanthropic community should increase the number and scale of scholarships for nursing students.
- The Oregon Legislature should investigate the creation of an Oregon Nurse Corps to provide loan forgiveness to nursing students who agree to complete four years of work in areas of great need.
Among the staffing issues reported in Oregon are shortages at the Oregon State Hospital. The Oregon National Guard was redeployed to the Oregon State Hospital on Sept. 9 to help hospital staff serve meals, escort patients to treatment activities, provide activities on the unit and assist patients with daily living activities