Our guest for this episode is Jana Bitton, the executive director for the Oregon Center for Nursing. Jana is as passionate an advocate for the nursing profession as you will find and is focused on helping the nurses in her state find work and advance their careers.

Today Jana gives Dan an update on the situation in Oregon and what she's hearing from nurses on the frontlines as the state battles its worst outbreak since the pandemic began.

She also talks about both the challenges and the opportunities she sees ahead for nurses given the impact of the pandemic on the profession, why she thinks nursing new grads deserve an especially big dose of empathy and compassion and why regulations for new nurses have got to give.

Links to recommended reading:

• NOT WORKING WELL: Clinical Placement for Nursing Students in an Era of Pandemic
• BRIEF: The Connection Between Local Nurse Recruitment Efforts and Social Determinants of Health

Episode 51: How COVID-19 has impacted the nursing workforce