Nursing workforce: a special issue.

摘要

The aim of this editorial is to consider the questions raised by the papers presented in this special issue of the International Journal of Nursing Studies (IJNS) in the context of where the field of workforce research is heading, as well as to pull out and discuss some of their implications for policy and practice. The papers presented reflect the prevailing preoccupations of the field, focussing on the size and composition of the nurse workforce, the impact of the work environments for nurses in various settings and the nature of the relationship between staffing levels and outcomes. Three key messages emerge from the findings. The first is a remarkable consistency in the evidence base across countries and clinical settings, noted in landmark papers such as Aiken et al. (2001). The second is the need to protect and reward the existing talent pool as well as invest in new nurses. The third relates to modifiable factors within the environments in which nurses practise, those factors over which leaders in the profession can exercise some discretion and control to improve outcomes and wellbeing of patients and workers.