Innovative pay package.

Abstract

The result of the new plan, hopes Smeltzer, will be a dramatic reduction in the nursing shortage, at least at UCH. "We find this plan appeals to nurses on several levels," said Smeltzer. "First, it provides financial rewards, and those rewards affirm the Hospitals' commitment to treating nurses as highly valued professionals. Second, it will create a better working environment for nurses, with more full-time nurses working together as established teams. In the long-run, this nursing plan should lead to improved patient care. By reducing the nursing vacancy rate, encouraging nurses to work full time, and reducing the Hospitals' dependence on temporary nurses hired through registries, we should have better-trained, more experienced nurses caring for patients."