Nurse identification number touted as workforce development tool

Editor's Note

As the nursing shortage continues to challenge health systems, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is promoting the use of the NCSBN ID, a unique nurse identifier, to help manage and improve the workforce.

HealthLeaders covered the possibilities October 14 in article based on  an interview with Jason Schwartz, director of member outreach at NCSBN.

The number is issued automatically by NCSBN during the NCLEX examination process, and it follows the nurse for their entire career, Schwarz explains in the article. Thus, health systems can potentially use the data to to ensure nurses maintain active, valid licenses, and to identify workforce composition trends and training or remediation needs by linking patient outcomes to specific nurses over time. Insight gleaned in this manner can potentially help chief nursing officers (CNOs) improve quality and training strategies across their teams.

Privacy concerns are minimal because the NCSBN ID itself is public, similar to a vehicle identification number, Schwarz told HealthLeaders. The number also does not carry personally identifiable information. NCBSN maintains the data through Nursys, a national database providing access to nurse license and disciplinary records.

Educational institutions are already using NCBSN to track graduate nursing students’ career paths, HealthLeaders reports.  Schwarz also said the ID can be effective for integrating data across different systems, offering a unified approach to workforce analytics. For researchers, it serves as a valuable tool to study trends in the nursing workforce, including demographics and career trajectories, helping guide strategies to maintain a robust nursing workforce in the future. Finally, capability to access nurse licensure and career history can enhance transparency for patients.