Abstract

Sustainability refers to designating or differentiating practices that meet the needs of today without destroying or depleting resources of tomorrow. A functional workforce remains a critical constituent of sustainability. Components for a sustainable registered nurse (RN) workforce include both tangible and intangible elements. The logistics of nursing workforce retention and recruitment are dynamic in nature. Factors such as uncertainty of the nursing job market, unsatisfactory nursing wages, and working conditions all play a role in nursing workforce sustainability. Research suggests policy development should focus on compensation measurements determined by quality care standards, recruitment and retention of nurses, and reform of the healthcare work environment, suggesting many intricate factors affect nursing workforce sustainability. However, nursing workforce sustainability has not been fully investigated in a concept analysis. This paper seeks to explore and define the concept of nursing workforce sustainability and provide greater understanding of the tangible and intangible elements influencing nursing workforce sustainability. Methods used include Walker and Avant’s analytical approach for concept exploration using literary analysis for conceptual investigation. The results of this paper will guide research in the global sustainability of the registered nurse workforce. This concept analysis will assist researchers in further investigations involving nursing workforce issues.