Long-range forecasts project a significant shortage of nurses in Virginia over the next 20 years. The shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) is expected to reach critical proportions around 2015*. Without focused interventions to address the shortage, it is expected that by 2028 Virginia will need 20,000 more RNs to provide critical healthcare services.

A real and lasting solution to the nursing shortage in Virginia is to keep nurses in the nursing workforce. Building nurses’ leadership skills helps emerging nurse leaders more effectively lead staff, increasing the likelihood that both the nurse leader and his or her staff stay in the job.

The goal of the Nurse Leadership Institute (NLI) is to increase nurse retention in healthcare institutions by increasing nurses’ management and leadership skills. The NLI is a nine-month leadership development program designed for emerging nurse leaders from all sectors of health care – community hospitals, academic health centers, public health, schools of nursing, long term care and home health. It is the only program of its kind in Virginia.

The NLI is a program of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation (www.rmhfoundation.org). The NLI is a member of the 2007 Cohort of Partners Investing in Nursing's Future (PIN) network, a partnership of the Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF) and the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation and local foundations investing in nursing workforce solutions.

The Institute enjoys broad community support from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Nursing, the Virginia Health Care Association, Virginia Nurses’ Association, Virginia Nurses’ Foundation, Virginia Partnership for Nursing, the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives, as well as hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers across the Commonwealth that sponsor their employees participation in the Institute. The Institute is grateful for the early financial and intellectual contributions of the Cameron Foundation, John Randolph Foundation, NWHF/RWJ Foundation and Virginia Partnership for Nursing.

*Future Virginia nursing supply was projected by the Health Workforce Data Center of the Virginia Department of Health Professions by applying the Nurse Supply Model (NSM) developed by the US Health and Resource Services Administration (HRSA) (www.dhp.virginia.gov/hwdc; January 2010).

Class of 2010 Nurse Leadership Institute

• •  Wednesday, May 18, 2011 @ 4:30 pm •  September 29, 2011