When confronted with a staffing crisis earlier this year, AONL member Claire Zangerle, DNP, RN, got creative. The chief nursing officer at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh decided to welcome licensed practical nurses (LPNs), who had largely been phased out of hospital employment, back into the nursing ranks at her institution. In a recent interview with HealthLeaders Media, she described the reaction of existing staff, how her decision squares with the research on BSN-prepared nurses and how she is integrating LPNs into care teams to improve patient outcomes. (HealthLeaders Media article, 9/27/21)
