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Optimizing nursing human resource planning in British Columbia

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Abstract

This paper describes a linear programming hierarchical planning model that determines the optimal number of nurses to train, promote to management and recruit over a 20 year planning horizon to achieve specified workforce levels. Age dynamics and attrition rates of the nursing workforce are key model components. The model was developed to help policy makers plan a sustainable nursing workforce for British Columbia, Canada. An easy to use interface and considerable flexibility makes it ideal for scenario and “What-If?” analyses.

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge:

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Itoko Muraoka Fellowship, the Bonder Scholarship for Applied Operations Research in Health Services and the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems for their funding support.

• British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU), the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC), BC Ministry of Advanced Education (MAE) and the University of British Columbia, School of Nursing for the provision of data. Any errors in the data analysis or interpretations are the authors.

• Sandra Regan (MSN, RN) and Dr. Pamela A. Ratner (PhD, RN) for all their input in understanding the dynamics of the Registered Nurses population of British Columbia.

We are grateful to the three anonymous referees and the Editors for their helpful comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Operations and Logistics Division, Sauder School of Business, The University of British Columbia, 2053 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z2, Canada

    Mariel S. Lavieri

  2. Sauder School of Business and UBC Centre for Health Care Management, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Martin L. Puterman

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  1. Mariel S. Lavieri
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  2. Martin L. Puterman
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Correspondence to Mariel S. Lavieri.

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Lavieri, M.S., Puterman, M.L. Optimizing nursing human resource planning in British Columbia. Health Care Manag Sci 12, 119–128 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-008-9097-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-008-9097-0

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