The healthcare community is recognizing the power of nurses, and they are aspiring to new heights. Medical schools are producing more graduates qualified to practice nursing, but they often do not stay in the field of nursing. In 2003, U.S. News & World Report recognized that a shortage of trained nurses existed across all specialties and subspecialties, including critical care and pediatrics.

Nursing shortages are usually defined and measured in relation to a country's historical workforce, resources, and estimates of demand for health services. Deficiency can be further described in the definition of absolute and relative terms. An absolute shortage is when qualified people are not available for a specific job vacancy.

The current workforce is made up of Boomers (194-1956), Generation X (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996), and Generation Z (1996-2020). Boomers are leaving the workforce or about to, especially in light of the great resignation that is most commonly reflected in early retirement. Generation Z is only recently entering the workforce, as the early group is recent college graduates.

Healthcare leaders should consider these five elements when integrating nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) on a multi-disciplinary team.In working with academic and organizational healthcare leaders nationwide, we have had many discussions on the topic of team building.

Managing employee attendance and time sheets is one of the biggest challenges for healthcare companies and in the current remote scenario. Employees are an essential part of healthcare organizations, but at the same time can cost a fortune if their timesheets are not properly managed.

One way organizations prioritize their employees is to create intentional and informed recruitment and retention strategies. Organizations also benefit financially from these strategies.Organizations and all employers of APRNs and PAs (called Advanced Practice Providers - APPs) make decisions annually to provide a salary increase.