INTEGRATIVE NURSING INSTITUTE (INI) has been established to respond to the crisis in health care and nursing, offering innovative solutions for nursing recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction through education and ongoing professional development.

INI believes this is an extraordinary time and opportunity to refocus the meaning of nursing and to redefine our profession in the 21^st Century

INI offers creative educational programs and opportunities for nurses with an emphasis on self-care, wellness and health promotion strategies and skills that can be implemented into diverse healthcare communities.

The Integrative Nursing Institute works in collaboration with International Nurse Coach Associates to develop and implement holistic nursing programs and to create integrative nurse coach models in diverse healthcare settings.

The Crisis

Current research reports that nurses are leaving nursing, increasingly dissatisfied with their profession due to prolonged stress, burnout, and the “quality of life” in the workplace environment. Further impacting this crisis is the fact that education, training, retention and ongoing professional development of nurses all require significant financial and energetic investments by the healthcare industry. Throughout the country the average replacement cost of each nurse now runs between $30,000 and $55,000.

Even though job opportunities for RN’S are expected to grow by more that 21% over the next 10 years, the number of nurses available to fill those jobs is projected to decline. By 2010, there will be only 635,000 nurses to fill 1.8 million positions (Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

The Solution

INI’S goal is to provide a long-term plan that is cost effective and provides for enhanced quality of patient care and nurse satisfaction. Most importantly, INI respects, values and empowers nurses recognizing their value as a vital member and leader in an emerging health care paradigm where wellness promotion and preventive health education is integrated into a nursing care model.

The Future of Health Care

Nurses as Health Coaches are going to play a major role in wellness promotion and disease prevention for individuals, communities, and organizations in the new Healthcare Stimulus Plan, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed by President Obama on Feb 17, 2009. (See, Integrative Nurse Coach Program)

INI is an initiative of Earthrose Institute, www.earthrose.org, a 501 c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the growing need to disseminate information, provide education and establish research collaborations to improve the quality of health in our society.