Montana Statewide Nursing Initiative
*THREE YEAR PLAN 1999-2002*

Goals and Strategies

• Continue the Montana Nursing Task Force as a Stakeholder Coalition

  1. Differentiate the work of Task Force Members.

  2. Dedicate one half-time position to serve as project coordinator.

  3. Work with consultants for understanding of the factors that affect workforce planning, articulation and differentiation of practice roles.

  4. Keep meetings open and maintain a role for a neutral facilitator.

  5. Broaden the base of leadership.

  6. Develop a communication plan to the public.

  7. Become an active player in the state, regional and national efforts of sustainable change in nursing education and practice.
     

• Establish regional and statewide systems and arrangements for nursing education (public and private) that feature and promote a clear ladder for educational advancement among all levels of RN graduates

  1. The Task Force's working group on articulation will oversee efforts to refine the Montana Model articulation plan with a series of two intensive workshops.

  2. Late in year two and throughout year three, the working groups on articulation will develop strategies for student recruitment and publish both print and electronic information on opportunities for educational mobility targeted to nurses in the state.
     

• Establish corresponding arrangements among educational and service institutions aimed at nurturing and improving the performance of the current nursing work force. This goal involves incentives for career advancement, such as differentiated practice roles and levels of compensation

  1. In years one and two, the working group on differentiated practice will work closely with the articulation subgroup in mounting the workshops described above, focusing its attention on patient population as differentiated roles are mapped out.

  2. In years two and three, the working group on differentiated practice will identify potentially successful demonstration sites and seek funds for those site.
     

• Establish systems to gather and quantify dependable data on current work force capacities - and to anticipate and forecast future requirements

  1. In fall 1999, the Task Force will assess workforce demand based on the statewide marketplace, and feed the data gathered into the process of revising and creating nursing curricula.

  2. During the second and third years of the project the Task Force will establish and refine a statewide process to create a balance between workforce supply and demand, and will publish the finding of its year one surveys.

  3. Output of the Task Force's data collection and analyses will be shared with policy-makers in the state.
     

• Serve as permanent regional forums for exploring evidence-based policy measures addressed to current and future capacities in nursing care

  1. In year one, the Project Director will investigate possible administrative alternatives for the Task Force and by the end of year one, Task Force members will decide on next steps.

  2. At the regional level, the Task Force will join and collaborate with the Western Institute of Nursing (WIN).

  3. In cooperation with WIN and the other CIC project partners in the western region, the Montana group will

  1. assist in the creation and maintenance of a work place forum web page within the WIN website to link to the CIC sites;

  2. facilitate round-table discussions at the WIN annual meetings;

  3. provide teleconference options for CIC program sites and others unable to attend the annual meetings;

  4. explore the structural options and plans to permanently house a western states regional work force presence within WIN; and

  5. develop plans to meet common information and/or data requirements for other needs which emerge.