Charting the Future Together: NCWS Prepares New Statewide Workforce Initiatives

Feb 27, 2026

Charting the Future Together: NCWS Prepares New Statewide Workforce Initiatives

The Nursing Council on Workforce Sustainability (NCWS) is moving into its next two‑year planning cycle, focusing on the most urgent challenges facing the nursing workforce today. As a statewide convener, NCWS brings together hundreds of volunteers and subject‑matter experts from every corner of the healthcare system—including hospitals, community health centers, academia, long‑term care, and workforce organizations—to work collectively on sustainable, evidence‑driven solutions.

As NCWS prepares its next set of initiatives, several emerging and rapidly evolving issues are at the forefront:

Shifts in federal funding and workforce investment priorities, including major grant opportunities and changing expectations for how organizations train, educate, and retain nurses.
Challenges facing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), including barriers to securing clinical preceptorships and evolving policy changes that directly affect practice environments and workforce capacity.
Nursing retention pressures, intensified by burnout, workforce exits, compensation gaps, and other factors identified by the NCWS Data & Research Committee.
A critical shortage of practical nurses, highlighted across NCWS committees as a threat to care access, especially in long‑term care and community settings.

These challenges are complex, but NCWS’s broad coalition of volunteers and partners—supported by ForHealth Consulting at UMass Chan Medical School and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services—ensures that Massachusetts continues to respond with coordinated and innovative leadership.

Working across sectors, NCWS remains committed to shaping a stronger nursing workforce through collaboration, research, policy development, and shared expertise. The next two years will build on this foundation, driving statewide improvements that support nurses, employers, educators, and ultimately the health of communities across the Commonwealth.