What do CNO's need to solve in 2024?

In today's fast-paced world, healthcare requires innovation as much as compassion—modern challenges demand modern care.

Nurse leaders today face more than just patient care issues. With the rise of AI and social media challenges, Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) are adapting in new ways.

Here’s how they’re addressing these issues:

Smart Recruiting

Recruitment is more crucial than ever, especially with the current nursing shortage but how do you solve the aging problem of this talent shortage, retention, and need to reduce spend? Sure there is the option to fill a gap with a temporary staff member, but how long will it be before another gap opens up, or that temporary staff member decides to take another position? It's only a matter of time with the landscape becoming much more competitive. Who takes on the extra workload and how does this affect the current staff not on a temporary/contract rate? Recruitment is so much more than just finding talent. It's finding talent, nurturing talent, retaining talent, growing talent, and creating an environment that creates loyalty.

Options to consider:

1. Using an agency like GQR that can offer a long term solution and create a candidate pool of clinicians interested in fulltime positions. It's much more cost efficient and will help reduce ongoing contingent labor spend, build stability in units and departments, build an ongoing culture and environment staff will want to work, and help attract new talent through market reputation.
2. Offer cross-training into areas that clinicians may not commonly acquire opportunities within. This will show that you're willing to invest in their future development and aspirational pathways.
3. Offering scholarships and tuition reimbursements to offer clinicians the opportunity develop their knowledge and growth goals.
4. Focus on recruiting from local communities can improve hiring, retention, and even reduce workplace issues. Building strong community ties also helps create a more positive image of nursing.

Developing Future Leaders

With experienced nurses retiring, there’s a concern about losing valuable knowledge. To tackle this, healthcare organizations are focusing on developing more nurse leaders and educators, creating clear pathways into nursing, and starting training earlier to better prepare new nurses.

Supporting Nurses’ Well-Being

New nurses face challenges beyond their skills, like handling tough situations with patients and families. It’s important to prepare them for these realities. CNOs also recognize the need to support nurses’ overall well-being, especially as they juggle work and home pressures. With workplace violence on the rise, better prevention and response strategies are being developed. Creating a workplace environment where nurses feel safe and enjoy coming to work is optimal.

Embracing Technology

Technology is increasingly important in healthcare, with virtual nursing and AI leading the way. These tools help reduce workloads, offer mentorship, and assist with patient care. It’s crucial for nurses to be involved in how AI is used so it supports rather than overwhelms them.

These efforts show how nurse leaders are working to improve recruitment, develop future leaders, support staff, and embrace new technology—all to enhance healthcare for everyone.

For information on how GQR can assist your internal team, please feel free to dm or email [email protected] .

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