Center for American Nurses | Serving the Needs of Nurses Today and Tomorrow

Advocacy

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Workforce Advocacy Clearinghouse



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Workforce Ecosystem

What is workforce advocacy?

Workforce advocacy is a process in which nurses are supported with a program of services and tools designed to help them self-advocate in the workplace, and in their professional and personal development. The Center’s services and materials will impact the workforce and arm individual nurses with the necessary skills and resources to, in turn, impact the workplace. Products and tools will focus on the following elements of workforce advocacy as defined by the Center:

  • Staffing: refers to job assignments including: the volume of work assigned to individuals, the professional skills required for particular job assignments, the duration of experience in a particular job category, and work schedules.

  • Workflow design: pertains to on-the-job activities of health care workers, including interactions among workers and the nature and scope of the work.

  • Personal/social factors: refer to individual and group factors such as stress, job satisfaction, and professionalism, as well as skills that may be underdeveloped in the nursing population, such as financial literacy.

  • Physical environment: includes aspects of the workplace such as light, aesthetics, and sound. These elements will be crucial as the Center explores the needs of a maturing workforce and offers solutions to health care employers.

  • Organizational factors: structural and process aspects of the organization as a whole, such as the use teams, divisions of labor, shared beliefs, and an increasing leadership capacity among nurses.

This approach offers a holistic view of the nurse from both a personal and professional perspective. It is the framework that guides our approach to provide value-added products and services that address the needs of nurses today and tomorrow. The Center for American Nurses is committed to assisting nurses in self- advocacy in their work environments. We are focused on the future and centered on the workforce.

Source:

Hickam, D.H, Severance S, Feldstein A, et al. The effect of health care working conditions on patient safety. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment Number 74, (Prepared by Oregon Health & Science University under Contract NO. 290-97-0018.) AHRQ Publication No. 03-E031. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. April 2003.
www.ahrq.gov or www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat1a.chapter.9710

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Center for American Nurses Workforce Staffing Workflow Design Personal and Social Components Physical Environment Organizational Component