Closing Nursing's Experience-Complexity Gap

Hospitals and health systems are facing a new kind of shortage among the nursing workforce: a shortage of experience. As older nurses retire and the influx of new nurses continues to grow, the net effect is a decline in the overall experience of the nursing workforce. At the same time, care delivery is becoming more complex. We call this phenomenon "the experience-complexity gap." If left unaddressed, the experience-complexity gap will widen and could put quality and safety at risk. In this article, the authors explore this new challenge and suggest 3 key strategies for addressing it.