Leadership and Staff Working Collaboratively to Develop Appropriate Staffing Guidelines

Creating a HealthyWorkplace e1 E nsuring safe and proper nurse-to-patient ratios with critically ill patients has been a constant struggle at hospitals throughout the country.Nursing leaders are trying to improve staffing, but many leaders are not working with direct-care nurses to find a solution.Collaboration between nursing leadership and direct-care nurses on the front lines is essential to improving the work environment and developing sustainable processes for safe and proper staffing.In 2018, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) came together with the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Organization of Nurse Leaders (AONL), the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to partner on nurse staffing issues.In 2022, the National Nurse Staffing Think Tank was formed with these same organizations to identify high priority areas to focus on to address the national nurse staffing shortage.Priority areas identified by the think tank were healthy work environments; diversity, equity, and inclusion; work schedule flexibility; the stress injury continuum (ie, decreasing burnout and supporting nurse well-being); and innovative care delivery models.