Spotlight: Supporting the nursing student pipeline to bolster the primary care workforce

As CTC-RI works to bring industry leaders and voices to the table to collaborate and address Rhode Island's primary care workforce crisis, one important avenue to address is our pipeline for nurse care managers. To help primary care practices provide quality care and better outcomes, nursing schools must provide primary care-centered education opportunities and properly trained educators to lead them. We asked University of Rhode Island College of Nursing professor Ginette Ferszt PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, to share her insight following a recent presentation to CTC-RI.

Rhode Island's primary care industry is currently facing a workforce shortage - in which ways are nurses uniquely impacted by this challenge?

The healthcare workforce shortage is continuing to have a significant impact on practicing nurses. Since insufficient staffing has a negative impact on patient outcomes, nurses are experiencing heightened stress and job dissatisfaction. When nurses are unable to meet patient care needs, their morale is affected. During the pandemic, approximately 100,000 nurses left the workforce and have not been replaced. We cannot afford to lose more nurses in the healthcare sector.

In which ways are you working to address the current workforce challenges?

CTC-RI is continuing to make major strides in addressing issues in the delivery of primary care and is well positioned to be a leader in supporting the education of nurses to move into the positions of nurse care managers. My work as a CTC-RI consultant is focused on having nursing students precepted by experienced nurse care managers who are working in primary care practices and have completed the nurse care manager core curriculum training program. I continue to be a member of the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and actively support their efforts to advocate for legislation that will increase the workforce. 

What opportunities lie ahead for supporting the industry, collaboration, and the future workforce?

Partnerships between healthcare organizations, educational institutions, government and industry associations are essential in developing long-term solutions to address the critical shortage in the healthcare sector. Some important solutions that have been identified are funding for capital projects that will increase laboratories and simulation, increase in salaries for nurses, grants and scholarships to increase diversity, payment for transportation and daycare for associate degree nurses to obtain their baccalaureate degree, and incentives for retired nurses and nursing faculty to return to the workforce. Nurses need to increase their participation in local, state and national initiatives to ensure that our voice is heard.