When the COVID-19 pandemic struck our world, nurses everywhere had a moment of reckoning and profound reflection on their careers and how nursing roles shaped their lives. 

Many nurses opted to remain in their current position, some left the profession entirely, few volunteered for mandatory furloughs, and most adjusted their sails to accept whatever came their way.

Reflecting on all the ways nurses adjusted to the changing needs of their patients and organizations with real-time solutions during a rapidly changing time is awe-inspiring. The sheer resourcefulness and adaptability of nurses should be recognized and amplified at every opportunity.

As organizations continue to grapple with significant staffing shortages that threaten to collapse our healthcare delivery system, now more than ever nursing leaders and executives must consider strategies for nurses to be repurposed in ways that capitalize on their skills to meet patient and staffing needs. Rethinking nurse staffing models could be a potential game changer for organizations fighting to maintain a balance over operating and fiscal responsibilities amid budget constraints that continue to loom over healthcare conglomerates.

Team-based nursing and COVID-19 surge staff became prevalent nationwide as extreme staff shortages crippled bedside nursing, all of which should be looked at closely in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Team nursing involves assigning non-critical care staff and providers to perform specific elements of care for critically ill patients, while staff with critical care experience focus on elements that require their expertise. Team nursing also requires the designation of a team leader that coordinates care among their team and patient assignment. 

Utilizing nurses from other hospital areas and using a team nursing approach to enhance nursing care in areas needing assistance is a great way to repurpose nurses from other units.

Implementing programs to cross-train nursing staff to provide flexibility and support is one aspect of this team nursing approach that could attract staff. Nurses are often reluctant to volunteer to float and work in other units after several years of uncertainty. Providing training on clear role expectations and sharpening a variety of skills is a key component of this solution.

Being able to provide respite assistance to continued overburdened floors and giving options to nurses in areas that continue to flex and have reduced census is one solution to repurposing nurses. Instead of being mandated off, nurses could opt to gain their allotted time assisting another struggling unit. 

Another solution is to elevate nursing staff to their highest scope of practice. LPNs provide incredible support and collaboration with the RNs they work together with. Many healthcare organizations have been reinserting LPNs back into the hospital setting after a period of phasing them out, recognizing the benefit of blended nursing models. Elevating LPNs and other nursing staff to utilize their full capabilities should be a strong consideration for many reasons, aside from filling staff needs. 

The number of nurse practitioner positions is projected to surge by 46% between 2021 and 2031. Advanced practice providers are already filling traditional medical roles by providing additional providers overseeing patient care in the hospital, specialty practices, and primary care settings.

Giving APRNs and other advanced practice providers full scope of practice and autonomy would be a tremendous step in the right direction to also empower the nursing profession. This would be a measure to combat staggering provider shortages that continue to impact communities and healthcare organizations in harmful ways. 

Taking a creative staffing approach and considering how remote and virtual healthcare transformed overnight during the COVID-19 pandemic. On-site roles shifted to virtual, and terms like “remote monitoring” and “telehealth” that seemed foreign became not only buzzwords but our reality during a shelter-in-place world. Hands-on and face-to-face care should never be replaced by technological improvements.

However, innovation strategies should be strongly considered when looking at alternative staffing models and the ways these could provide respite to providers and enhance healthcare. Seasoned nurses looking to leave the profession could be sought to perform remote monitoring or telehealth roles that would utilize their impeccable knowledge and skills, but in a way that may be better suited to their lifestyle or physical limitations. Encouraging nurses to consider a wide array of alternatives is a phenomenal way to end the great resignation that continues to significantly strain our nursing workforce

I urge healthcare leaders to consider engaging their nursing staff to discuss all the ways nurses could be repurposed to provide for the changing needs of organizations, patients, and, more importantly, in ways that refuel job satisfaction for nursing staff that have lost their zest for their profession. Alternative roles, supporting other nurses, and utilizing a nurse’s highest scope of practice are great ways to break up the monotony of an unfulfilled career and give nurses a greater sense of control over an ever-changing healthcare climate.