The nurse work environment: Current and future challenges

Abstract

Costs of nurse turnover including financial loss and loss of intellectual capital warrant a better understanding of how improving the nurse work environment could result in increased nurse retention and better patient outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current and future challenges for improving the nurse work environment in health care settings across the United States. This was a critical analysis about the current and future challenges of improving the nurse work environment from analysis of current literature integrated with the author's experience of studying the nurse work environment. Current challenges for improving the nurse work environment include staying informed of developing evidence on a global scale, using innovative research methods to learn about how work environments might change over time, and expanding research to understudied patient populations. Future challenges for improving the nurse work environment include effective intervention design, testing interventions, and sustaining changes designed to have a positive influence on patient and nurse outcomes. Despite inherent current and future challenges, attending to opportunities for improving the nurse work environment could help reduce nurse turnover and improve patient care outcomes.