The greatest challenge facing nursing is also its most exciting opportunity, Dianne Aroh, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, told Becker's.
"We need nurse leaders to be more reflective about how we are approaching challenges and our willingness and courage to abandon what we're comfortable with so we can move into the future of nursing," Ms. Aroh said. "Different people want different things and people are being more open about what's important to them."
The nurse workforce shortage is waxing and waning. Some systems and states are experiencing a shortage, others are not and some say there is no shortage, but simply a bottleneck at schools that turn away thousands of applicants.
Some people seek flexibility and nurses want to practice at the top of their license, "but have we embraced it? Have we really executed on it in an intentional way and sustained it? Or have we abandoned mission when we were challenged?" Ms. Aroh said.
Technology can provide flexibility and help face challenges. Ms. Aroh shared that one of Virginia Mason Franciscan's top nurses moved to another state and they would have lost 40 years of experience with her. But because of the system's virtual nursing program, it was able to keep her on staff and use her knowledge to help new nurses.
"Yes, we are confronting challenges, but I want to change the word 'challenge' to new opportunities."