Dive Brief:
- With reform generating major changes in the health care system, nurses have developed many career options they didn't have before, options that compete with hospital openings.
- According to Karlene Kerfoot, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, two factors are contributing to the growth of nursing opportunities: ACOs, which are giving nurses many new roles in care delivery, and retail health outlets, of which there are more than 1,500 across the U.S.
- What makes the stress on hospital-based nurses worse is a challenging work environment in which shifts can vary, unlike roles as care managers and retail clinic nurses.
Dive Insight:
The expanding range of opportunities for nurses is a plus for them, but potentially a major problem for hospitals, which are already spread thin with some of the toughest challenges of their existence. Having to recruit scarce nursing talent, especially experienced talent, is a distraction from other ongoing concerns. However, it seems likely that hospitals will need to compete on a new level for nurses.