Establishing and sustaining healthy work environments must be a priority if nurses are going to make their optimal contributions in caring for patients and patients' families. The link between healthy work environments and patient safety, nurse retention and recruitment and, thus, the bottom line, is irrefutable. The ingredients for success — skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership — are described in the AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments.

The Organization of Nurse Leaders of New Jersey established the Nurse Workplace Environment and Staffing Council (NWESC) Commission. It selected American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments as the framework for their work in hospitals (American Association Critical-care Nurses (AACN), 2005; AACN, 2016). The Commission's vision is that the state will be recognized as the leader in creating and sustaining a healthy work environment for its nurses.

ONL NJ Cohort 5 virtual education sessions will include:

Session 1 – Skilled Communication and Effective Decision Making

Session 2 – Appropriate Staffing (Basic) and Authentic Leadership

Session 3 – Appropriate Staffing (Advanced), True Collaboration and Resilience

Learner Outcome(s) for Cohort 5:

1) At the conclusion of this program, the learner will gain knowledge in how to establish and sustain a healthy work environment and will self-report confidence in adopting a Nursing Workplace Environment and Staffing Council (NWESC), which may be transferable to their practice, nursing department and organization.

2) Within 6 months of the Cohort 5 Session 1, learners will self-report having planned and established a Nursing Workplace Environment and Staffing Council (NWESC), as the framework for their practice, nursing department and organization.

At the conclusion of the education program, eighty percent of the learners will report that they agree to have confidence in adopting two key strategies that will assist in sustaining a healthy work environment.

Successful completion of the 3 webinar sessions is defined as attendance for 100 percent for each webinar learning session and a completed course evaluation for each session

Target Audience:

Nurse managers, nursing coordinators, assistant nurse managers, staff nurses, chief nursing

officers, vice presidents of patient care, assistant vice presidents of nursing, administrative

directors, directors of nursing, new ONL NJ mentors and mentees, Nursing Workforce

Environment Staffing Council (NWESC) members, university deans, nurse educators, nurse

researchers and post-acute leaders, nursing home administrators and assisted living

administrators.

Continuing Nursing Education Credits:

This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Approval refers to recognition of continuing education only and does not imply AACN or or ANCC approval or endorsement of the content of this educational activity.

Session 3 - This activity provides 3.75 contact hours.