Addressing the Unique Challenges of a Statewide Nurse Transition to Practice Program.

The post-pandemic healthcare landscape significantly impacted the professional nursing workforce by exacerbating existing challenges, including the academic-practice gap of new nurse graduates. Transition to practice (TTP) programs have been proven effective in supporting newly licensed registered nurses as they move into practice. A well-designed TTP program empowers new nurses to become resilient and competent, enhancing patient care and contributing to a healthier work environment.

Leveraging State Legislation to Impact Workforce Shortages.

The purpose of this publication is to inform others who can learn and benefit from the process used to leverage state legislation to address the nursing workforce shortage in the state of Arizona. As we emerged from a global pandemic, the nurse leaders in the state of Arizona leveraged relationships and legislation to advance policy. The authors discuss how multisectoral collaboration and organizational alignment secured significant funding to support the Arizona Nurse Education Investment Program.

Using Text Messages to Support Nurse Well-being.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant nurse stress and contributed to burnout for a number of reasons, including but not limited to personal protective equipment shortages, furloughs, overtime, reassignment to unfamiliar work environments, and alternate staffing patterns, all of which contribute to grief, loss, fear, and anger. While the nursing profession and employers offered support and psychological first-aid resources, there was a disconnect in effectively linking stressed nurses with these needed resources. An innovative statewide pilot project in Arizona, RNconnect 2 Wellbeing, was created to determine whether nurses might respond to and use supportive resources via opt-in text messages.

Mind the gap: transitions in nursing education and care delivery systems.

The relationship between nursing education and nursing practice has been the topic of discussion throughout the history of the profession. The rate of change at the turn of this new century is unfolding more rapidly than ever. In this article the London underground is used as a metaphor to examine transition issues related to nursing education and care delivery.

Emergency preparedness for the home healthcare nurse.

Recent events are quickly becoming the hard teacher: giving tests of preparedness first, then allowing for lessons afterward. However, each emergency teaches valuable lessons about assessment and preparation, and each lesson learned can be integrated into assessment of and preparation for the next event. This article outlines key steps that home care nurses can take to ensure patient safety during emergencies or disasters.

Covered lives and seamless systems: nursing workforce development and integration in Arizona's managed-care environment.

Responding to demands that nursing leaders conduct business in creative proactive ways, the authors of this department share the work of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's national program, Colleagues in Caring: Regional Collaboratives for Nursing Work Force Development. The purpose of this initiative is to enhance regional and state collaborative planning and implement actions and policies to address the rapid changes occurring in the United States nursing labor market. This department, edited by Mary Fry Rapson, PhD, RN, CS, National Program Director and Rebecca B.