Operationalizing Nursing Value

With nearly 4.2 million registered nurses, nursing is the largest work force and the largest operational cost in health care. During 2022, nursing care accounted for more than 50% of operational costs in U.S. Despite the size of the investment in nurses and nursing care, we lack understanding in a range of important areas, including 1) nurses' contributions to patient outcomes; 2) the impact of nursing interventions; 3) cost of nursing care by patient, family, and community outcomes; and 4) nurse staffing needs based on optimal patient, family, and community outcomes. Underpinning these information needs are fundamental nursing and patient care workflows that provide a plethora of potentially useable data for a value-based approach to nursing care.