Nurses want to practice nursing, not be ‘organizational sponge’

Editor's Note

In an opinion piece, Katie Boston-Leary, PhD, MBA, MHA, NEA-BC, director of nursing programs at the American Nurses Association (ANA), says that nurses want to practice nursing and not be the “organizational sponge” that absorbs all other tasks that other professionals will not, can not, or are unavailable to complete.

A recent study by McKinsey and the ANA Enterprise finds that better technological support and delegation of tasks could lead to a 10% net time reduction during shifts, says Boston-Leary.

She says a recent nursing graduate, who is in her fourth career, told her she had never seen any role in her lifetime where so much is required from one person in such a short period of time.

Boston-Leary adds that any care delivery model redesign that doesn’t support those nurses providing direct care, leverage technology and roles to reduce workload, or provide an overlay of support via surveillance, virtual care, and robotics will not address nursing’s critical concerns.