As current chair of the ANA-OHIO Public Policy Committee, you may assume that I have significant past policy experience that qualifies me to serve in such a role. If that is your assumption, it would be incorrect. A more accurate statement is that the collective committee has vast policy experience, with a joint resume that includes PhDs in political science and Juris Doctor degrees, a lobbyist, a White House Fellow, policy advisors to federal and state legislators and past presidents of national nursing organizations and a State Board of Nursing. What I bring to the committee, however, is a willingness to learn from the experts, a passion for making positive change, and a fresh perspective on creating sustainable impact through policy innovation. Out of these conditions, I, an inexperienced, but passionate individual, in collaboration with a committee chock-full of nursing legends with enough policy experience to write a textbook or two (they have… Milstead’s Health Policy and Politics, 7th ed., Nurses Making Policy: From Bedside to Boardroom, 3rd ed.) came up with an idea to address nursing workforce shortages in Ohio through the use of a policy hackathon.
What is a Policy Hackathon?
A hackathon is a team-based method of problem solving that originated in the STEM field, where participants brainstorm, prototype, and pitch a creative solution to a challenge. They are rich sources of innovation, and ideas born out of hackathons have been developed into marketable products and companies. Policy Hackathons use the same method of team problem solving to improve social challenges, but the end result is innovative policy rather than a new product or company. For the 2023 Nursing Policy Hackathon, teams will work in one of four areas: Acute care, Community care, Public health, or Nursing Education to develop policy solutions aimed at improving nursing shortages in their respective area. The Inaugural ANA-OHIO Policy Hackathon will be hosted by Miami University in the new College@Elm Innovation and Workforce Development Center November 3-5, 2023.
Nursing Workforce Shortages
Nurses make up the largest percentage of the healthcare workforce (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021) and are vital to every aspect of care delivery. Health care operations heavily depend on an adequate supply of nurses, but due to many factors, including an aging work-force and population, burnout, and workplace violence (Haddad, Annamaraju, & Toney-Butler, 2023), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an ongoing nursing shortage (2022). There have been attempts at policy solutions to fix the underlying problems leading to nursing workforce shortages, such as banning mandatory overtime (H.B. 163, 134th General Assembly) and mandating staffing ratios (S.1567, 117th Congress). However, these solutions have proved insufficient. A more critical lens needs to be applied to the issues underlying the exodus of nurses out of the profession within the context of realistic financial constraints. The best way to do this is to invite nurses, health care system leadership, legislators, and others to sit at the same table and co-create better solutions.
Why Should I Participate?
Your voice is critical to the success of this event. It doesn’t matter if you are brand-new or the most seasoned nurse. You bring valuable perspectives, based on your lived experience, that can contribute to new policy solutions. There are many reasons to participate in this event, including:
- Fantastic networking and learning experiences
- Delicious food throughout the event
- Registration is free and includes: A keynote speaker and happy hour Friday evening, team work day on Saturday to develop an idea into a three-minute pitch and 3-5 page policy brief (breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided while working), and an opportunity to pitch your idea to a panel of judges on Sunday (brunch will be included between judging rounds).
- Cash Prizes for winning teams
You do not have to be a policy expert to participate in this event. You just need to be willing to contribute to solutions aimed at improving nursing work-force shortages in Ohio. This process works best when a diversity of voices and perspectives work together. Alongside fellow nurses, health care leadership, and legislators, students and professionals outside of the health care sector (engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs, etc.) are being recruited to participate to share insight that may help generate ideas from different perspectives.
We hope you will join us Nov 3-5! Follow this link to register: https://ANA-OHIO.ORG/Policy-Hackathon If you have questions related to the 2023 Policy Hackathon, please reach out to Sara Arter, chair of the Public Policy Committee, at Burkesj2@miamioh.edu. See you there!
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2022, September 8). Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses. Retrieved June 28, 2023 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2023, February 13). Nursing Shortage. In StatPearls. Retrieved June 28, 2023 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2021). The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982.
