Managing Sustainable Workforce In Nursing and Healthcare in 2025-2030

The Managing Sustainable Workforce In Nursing and Healthcare in 2025-2030. Sustainable action can improve care, not only for patients, but also for the communities we serve (locally and globally) and the natural environment on which we depend. Nursing personnel have a duty to protect and promote public health in the face of these threats and play a unique and vital role in this process.

How Managing Sustainable Workforce In Nursing and Healthcare in 2025-2030

Workforce 2030 is primarily aimed at planners and policymakers in Member States, but benefits all relevant stakeholders in the health sector, including public and private sector employers, professional associations, educational and training institutions, trade unions, and bilateral organizations.

Managing The Workforce

Daily and ongoing management of the workforce includes many challenges, including managing generational differences, coaching team members, appraising performance, and using corrective action.

Managing Generational Differences

On any nursing unit, as many as four different generations of nurses may be working side by side. Each generation has its own unique characteristics, work ethic, and expectations of the workplace (Murray, 2013). Nurse leaders and managers must identify strategies to create cohesive partnerships among the different generations to ensure safe and quality nursing care and create a healthy work environment. Stereotypes and judgmental attitudes about each generation can undermine the nursing team.

For example, often there is the perception that older nurses do not like younger nurses; on the other end of the spectrum, there is sometimes the assumption by the new generation of nurses that older generations of nurses are old-fashioned and technologically challenged. When generations collide in the workplace, patient care can be compromised. In addition, nurse satisfaction can be affected, resulting in miscommunication, interpersonal tension, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and increased turnover. Nurse leaders and managers must foster a supportive and collegial environment that brings the various generations together to achieve their common goals.

Acknowledging what each generation brings to the table and learning from the various generations can decrease tension and enhance personal and professional growth, leading to mutual respect (Murray, 2013; Weston, 2006). Improved health and technological advances are allowing older nurses to work longer, and these expert nurses are needed for their skills and experiences to fill many essential positions (American Organization of Nurse Executives [AONE], 2010). In fact, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013–2014), more than one-third of RNs are more than 50 years old.

Many older nurses are healthy and want to work beyond retirement years. In fact, a new view of aging is being recognized today as the average life expectancy increases and the quality of life in the final decades improves; in fact, a new middle period of life from age 50 to 70 years old is emerging, called the third age (Bower & Sadler, 2009). This new paradigm of successful aging is challenging the view of what is “old”—and many say, “60 is the new 40” (Bower & Sadler, 2009).

Third-age nurses are needed today to combat the current and future nursing shortage. They know the health-care system and provide a valuable resource because of their experience, knowledge, wisdom, and competence (AONE, 2010; Bower & Sadler, 2009). Nurse leaders and managers have “a vested interest in ensuring that qualified and talented nurses are not lost to traditional retirement but instead redirected to other rewarding jobs and careers in nursing” (Bower & Sadler, 2009, p. 20).

They must consider strategies to retain and develop older nurses for new and emerging roles. This approach may involve exploring environmental modifications to meet the needs of older nurses and prevent injuries because loss of strength and agility may affect older nurses’ ability to turn, lift, and transfer patients, as well as tolerate the overall physical demands of the job (Page, 2004). To leverage generational differences, nurse managers and leaders can use the following strategies to make the workplace more generationally comfortable (Murray, 2013):

Accommodate differences by recognizing the strengths of each generation and using those strengths to build a sustainable workforce.
Be flexible when giving options in the workplace and consider alternate scheduling options. Seek input from staff on recruitment, retention, and staffing matters that could decrease turnover and increase job satisfaction.
Use a sophisticated management style and modify management approaches to address the differences and similarities of each generation. Keeping staff in formed, providing a big picture, and using rewards, recognition, and feedback are management strategies that appeal to all generations.
Respect competence and initiative, and value the talents and work ethics of each generation, even though they differ. For example, use the expertise and experience of older and seasoned nurses to help develop policies and procedures and set up programs to assist new nurses

. Provide younger nurses with opportunities to solve problems and contribute to teamwork on their own terms. Nurses of younger generations tend to be collaborators and prefer frequent feedback, so provide them with seasoned mentors who will coach them as they launch their nursing career.

Coaching Staff Members

Coaching is the art of guiding another individual toward fulfilling his or her future; to assist a person in achieving his or her goals, a coach helps him or her develop and prioritize viable solutions and then act on them (Narayanasamy & Penney, 2014; Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2013). Coaching is a strategy used by nurses and managers to motivate and assist their staff members to improve their work performance.

Part of coaching includes observing employee performance and providing ongoing feedback and constant encouragement. Staff members need to feel supported by the nurse leader and manager to be successful and excel in their roles (Roussel, 2013). Effective coaching is transformative because it results in significant changes in an individual that motivates him or her to find achievement, fulfillment, and joy in the workplace (Narayanasamy & Penney, 2014). An effective coach assists nurses in recognizing opportunities for learning and development.

Nurse leaders and managers can use coaching when team building, in managing change, for professional development, and in career planning. The coaching relationship must be built on respect and trust. Nurses being coached must feel safe and secure, valued, and validated by the coach (Narayanasamy & Penney, 2014). To be effective coaches, nurse leaders and managers must become self-aware. Coaching is beneficial to sustaining the workforce because it increases productivity, patient safety, quality of nursing care, and nurses’ confidence and professionalism.

Appraising Performance

Nurse leaders and managers must ensure that their staff has the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes to perform professional responsibilities. Nurse competencies, performance standards, and educational preparation directly impact patient safety and quality outcomes. A performance appraisal is a formal evaluation of the work performance of an employee that is conducted by the nurse leader and manager.

An effective performance appraisal can foster staff growth and development and promote retention. The employee’s performance is evaluated according to the position description and established standards of practice. Nurse leaders and managers may use a performance appraisal for the following reasons:

To assess a new employee at the conclusion of probationary status to determine whether the minimum level of performance for a position has been met
To provide recognition for accomplishments or constructive feedback when improvement in performance is needed
For an annual performance review of the employee’s past goals, including performance related to position description, and to plan for professional development over the next year

During a performance appraisal, the nurse’s performance is weighed against the position description, professional standards of practice, and policies and procedures. The position description reflects legal, regulatory, and accreditation requirements; delineates the employee’s roles and responsibilities; and specifies the person to whom the nurse reports. In addition, the position description outlines expected performance standards, which are often based on the ANA (2015c) Scope and Standards of Practice and represent the minimal level of acceptable nursing practice.

Nurses working in specialty areas may have standards related to the clinical specialty included in their position description. Performance appraisals should relate only to the nurse’s position description and expected performance standards and not to the personality of the individual. An effective performance appraisal should promote successful work relationships and enhance employee development as well as motivate staff to improve performance and productivity (Pearce, 2007).

However, nurses may view performance appraisals as threatening, based on previous negative experiences. Providing frequent feedback on a regular basis throughout the review period can lessen fear of the process. Nurse leaders and managers should follow these steps when conducting effective performance appraisals (Pearce, 2007):

Prepare for the performance appraisal by keeping employee files updated with appropriate data and anecdotal notes that reflect performance observed throughout the review period. This ensures that feedback is based on facts.
Plan for the performance appraisal to be conducted in a formal but relaxed atmosphere. Schedule the performance appraisal at a time that is convenient for the employee and ensure there will be no interruptions.
Conduct the performance appraisal in such a manner as to encourage productive exchange of ideas and joint problem solving. Review self-appraisal and peer reviews with the employee and encourage discussion.
Review the employee’s achievements and ask whether he or she has achieved goals set during the previous performance appraisal.
Provide the employee with feedback on his or her achievements.
If the performance appraisal process calls for ratings or scoring, seek input from the employee and strive for agreement.
Discuss plans for improvement and assist the employee in identifying areas to work on and developing a realistic plan but avoid developing the plan for the employee.
Address the employee’s career plans and offer realistic feedback regarding opportunities for advancements.
Assist the employee in developing new goals and objectives for the upcoming year by using the SMART (specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, timed) technique.
Ask the employee for feedback, including how you can support the employee.
Provide an opportunity for the employee to add written comments on the performance appraisal. The performance appraisal should be written and signed by the nurse, leader and manager and the employee, and the employee should be provided with a copy of the signed document. Effective nurse leaders and managers use performance appraisals to enhance work experience for staff, facilitate productivity, promote professionalism and career development, measure nursing performance, and, ultimately, create joy in the workplace (Roussel, 2013).

An important aspect of performance appraisal is self-assessment or a self-appraisal. A self-appraisal is the process of the employee reflecting on his or her own personal actions and professional performance related to sense of self, values, beliefs, decisions, actions, and outcomes (Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2013). The self-appraisal should include a review of the employees’ performance related to the previous year’s goals and list specific accomplishments during the year.

The employee may want to include feedback from peers as well as from patients and their families. An accountable nurse will also acknowledge areas of weakness during self-appraisal and identify strategies to make changes in practice to improve performance. Self-appraisal is part of professional autonomy, accountability, and self-regulation in nursing and “requires personal accountability for the knowledge base for professional practice, [and reflects] an individual’s demonstrated personal control based on principles, guidelines, and rules deemed important” (ANA, 2010, p. 30).

Nurse leaders and managers must also engage in self-appraisal of their own practice in relation to professional practice guidelines, standards, statutes, rules, and regulations on a regular basis (ANA, 2016). Another possible element of a performance appraisal is a peer review, in which nurses from common practice areas assess, monitor, and make judgments about the quality of nursing care provided by a nurse peer (Haag-Heitman & George, 2011, p. 48). The peer review process also fosters accountability and supports self-regulation. Nurse leaders and managers have a critical role in establishing an effective peer review process.

They may need to coach staff in the peer review process and encourage the use of constructive feedback versus destructive feedback. Constructive feedback is supportive, motivates the employee to succeed and grow, and involves showing respect and praising the employee for a job well done (e.g., “I really appreciate how you handled that difficult patient yesterday”), whereas destructive feedback includes threats and fear to control employee behavior, by criticizing the employee and making him or her feel humiliated (e.g., “Are you stupid? You should never walk out of the patient’s room with gloves on!”).

Often, nurse leaders and managers are evaluated by superiors based on peer reviews and input from staff related to employee satisfaction, successful recruitment and retention efforts, and quality outcomes. One form of peer review is 360-degree feedback, which is a type of constructive feedback in which nurses receive feedback from everyone around them—supervisors, peers, physicians, other health-care professionals, and even patients and their families. Typically, 360-degree feedback is anonymous. The nurse leader and manager summarize the feedback and review it with the employee.

The goal of 360-degree feedback is to provide specific opportunities for the employee to use in his or her development plan. It also provides the nurse leader and ma ager with areas in which to coach the nurse for growth and professional development. Peer reviews and 360-degree feedback can be used not only for nurses but also for nurse leaders and managers.

Informal and formal feedback on their performance from those they work with as well as from their subordinates can help nurse leaders and managers understand the effects of their leadership style and identify strengths and weaknesses in them inter professional and intra professional communication skills. This feedback can be used by nurse leaders and managers in their own professional development.

Using Corrective Action

The emphasis on patient safety and quality care globally is motivating health-care organizations to focus attention on recruiting and retaining quality workers. This means keeping excellent employees (the high performers), further developing the good employees (the middle performers), and forcing the weak or poor employees (the low performers) to leave the organization (Matheny, 2005, p. 296). About middle and low performers, nurse leaders and managers must address deficiencies and substandard performance immediately to avoid escalation of the behavior.

When substandard performance or deficiencies are identified, these may need to be addressed by the nurse leader and manager through corrective action, a progressive process used to improve poor performance. Nurse leaders and managers must explore the deficiencies and determine whether the employee violated rules or policies and procedures or whether the deficiencies are related to lack of skill or competence. Evidence must be gathered to establish a case. Minor rule infractions such as tardiness or excessive absences should be addressed directly with the employee, and the employee should be given an opportunity to improve.

Typically, this is accomplished through a written agreement between the employee and the nurse leader and manager that clearly outlines expected behavior, and the consequences should the employee not meet the expectations. When a major infraction occurs, such as mistreatment of a patient, use of alcohol at work, or deferring medications from a patient, the employee should be terminated immediately (more on this later in this section). Nurse leaders and managers are bound by the ANA (2015a) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements to address all instances of incompetent, unethical, illegal, or impaired practice that compromise the safety or wellbeing of the patient.

Further, any nurse who observes inappropriate behavior or questionable practice by another nurse that jeopardizes the rights or safety of a patient should report these concerns to the supervisor immediately (ANA, 2015a). When establishing a corrective action plan, the nurse leader and manager must first determine the reason for the substandard performance: Is it the result of a lack of knowledge, skill, or experience, or did the employee violate policy or procedure?

Next, the nurse leader and manager should address the behavior with a progressive corrective action plan according to the organization’s policy and procedure; the plan may include a verbal reprimand, a written reprimand, suspension with or without pay, and termination. Corrective action should include constructive feedback to improve behavior or performance, rather than destructive feedback, which does not encourage the employee to succeed and can be detrimental to his or her development.

Nurse leaders and managers must explore their approach to corrective action and adopt constructive techniques whenever possible. Once poor performance is addressed and the employee meets the conditions of the corrective action plan, the incident should not be held against the employee unless the behavior is repeated. It is unfair to bring up poor performance in the next performance appraisal if it has not been a problem since the employee met the conditions of the corrective action plan.

However, if the employee repeats the behavior, and continued efforts to assist him or her in meeting the minimum standards of performance are not successful, termination may be necessary (McConnell, 2011). Terminating an employee is a painstaking process. It requires the nurse leader and manager to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident, collect pertinent data and materials related to performance (e.g., policies and procedures, position description, and standards of practice), and objectively formulate a judgment based on the facts (Cohen, 2006; Hader, 2006).

The nurse leader and manager should seek advice from human resources to ensure that the necessary information and documents have been collected to support the termination before contacting the employee to set up a meeting (Cohen, 2006). Planning the meeting in three segments is a strategy the nurse leader and manager can use to present the decision in a professional manner and stay on track. First, the nurse manager or leader should state the reason for the meeting. Second, details of the incident should be presented.

The nurse leader and manager must stay objective during this phase and present facts related to the event and the specific policies and procedures and standards that were violated. Third, the employee should be informed of his or her termination in as straightforward a manner as possible. Terminating an employee is a difficult and stressful task; following a standard procedure, including carefully reviewing all facts, remaining objective, and making an informed decision, only makes it easier (Cohen, 2006; Hader, 2006).

Nurse leaders and managers must ensure that reasonable efforts have been made to help employees succeed. Allowing poor performance to continue without action can have a deleterious effect on the work environment. Staff morale can be negatively impacted when staff members feel that the poor performance of a nurse is not dealt with in a timely manner or is ignored. In fact, nurses who are high performers may begin to slow down their performance, reduce the quality of their own work, or leave an organization if they perceive that nurse leaders and managers tolerate those who are unwilling or unable to perform at a level necessary to deliver safe and quality care (Matheny, 2005).

Conclusion

A continuing challenge nurse leaders and managers face entails recruiting and retaining new nurse graduates as well as experienced nurses in 2025-2030. In addition, nurse leaders and managers must promote a healthy work environment and implement plans to make the workplace generationally friendly to sustain a competent work force. Nurse leaders and managers must also effectively manage the workforce. To do so, nurse leaders and managers must consider the nurse’s performance related to the position description and organizational performance standards.

Performance appraisals can improve staff morale, productivity, and job satisfaction. Finally, nurse managers and leaders must deal with violations of policies and procedures and poor performance immediately to avoid escalation of the problem. Regardless of the reason for poor performance, the goal of corrective action should be to help the employee succeed in his or her position.

https://nurseseducator.com/high-fidelity-simulation-use-in-nursing-education/

First NCLEX Exam Center In Pakistan From Lahore (Mall of Lahore) to the Global Nursing

Categories of Journals: W, X, Y and Z Category Journal In Nursing Education

AI in Healthcare Content Creation: A Double-Edged Sword and Scary

Social Links:

https://www.facebook.com/nurseseducator/

https://www.instagram.com/nurseseducator/

https://www.pinterest.com/NursesEducator/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nurseseducator/

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Afza-Lal-Din

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=F0XY9vQAAAAJ