Buerhaus discusses nursing workforce strengths, future needs

The nursing workforce is more highly educated and diverse compared to 15 years ago, positioning it well to address health inequities, said Peter Buerhaus, PhD, RN. Buerhaus, the director at the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies and professor of nursing at Montana State University in Bozeman, was interviewed by Nursing Economic$. He pointed to the public’s trust in nurses and the rapid growth of nurse practitioners as other key strengths. Buerhaus said hospitals and nurses should reset their economic relationship by having nurses embrace hospitals’ transition to value-based payment. Hospitals should similarly recognize “their economic interests are increasingly tied to a well-prepared and value-informed nursing workforce.” He also explained his opposition to mandatory minimum patient-to-nurse staffing ratios on the basis that they result in inefficiency providing patient care, increase costs and do not improve quality.