10-month study begun to address nursing shortage

THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) launched a new initiative in July to study the future of nursing in America in light of the growing shortage. Between now and May 2010, members of a newly formed committee will meet with nurses and the public, review various care models, and assemble a report in hopes of laying out a plan of action to address the shortage. Committee leaders are Donna Shalala, PhD, secretary of Health and Human Services under President Clinton and the current president of the University of Miami; and Linda Burnes Bolton, RN, PhD, FAAN, who is vice president of nursing, chief nursing officer, and director of nursing research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.