Nurses called on to define value, lead transformation

In his keynote address, professional governance expert Tim Porter-O’Grady,  EdD, APRN, shared his view that health care transformation cannot succeed unless nurses take part as leaders. He said nurses now sit on more boards than ever before, and in the past two years, health system executives gained greater appreciation of what nurses bring to their enterprises. Nevertheless, he called on nurses to do more to define their value as a profession. “I am not a cost center. I am a professional nurse,” he asserted. “We have no meaningful…financial determination of what we do that creates sustainable value. That's a critical issue.” He described his vision of a future in which health care organizations privilege, rather than hire, nurses and present them with a charter of accountability instead of a job description. He urged his colleagues to embrace the “journey to the value side of the ledger,” and demonstrate the impact of professional nursing on the nation’s health.