Nurses positioned to drive change in health care

Revised staffing models, reshaped care teams and increased specialization are among the ways nurses will drive change in health care, according to a CNO Roundtable report from HealthLeaders Media. Staffing will continue to challenge nurse leaders, the report noted. To solve the problem, "We are going to have to involve people at the very front line—staff nurses, wherever they are—to tell us what it will take, to tell us what they need, to tell us why they're frustrated. Then we must act on this input," said AONL member Kathleen Sanford, DBA, RN, chief nursing officer for CommonSpirit Health, based in Chicago. AONL member Jesus Cepero, PhD, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Stanford Children's Health, Palo Alto, Calif., stressed the importance of specialization. “I believe it’s still a very important point that we continue to assess and promote specialty practice because we always see improved outcomes,” he said. (HealthLeaders Media article, 9/2/21)