Translating Workforce Strategy into Practice: How a Nurse Manager Brings Workforce Design to Life on the Unit
Workforce strategy is only as strong as the unit it lives on.
Megan Schwartz, Nurse Manager at Sinai Hospital Medical Center, sees every day how staffing plans and nurse workforce strategy become real — in assignments, in orientation, and in how support shows up across a team. Whether welcoming a new domestic graduate or an internationally educated nurse (IEN), Megan focuses on building the kind of culture and structure where every nurse can thrive.
At The Experience Equation, a live LinkedIn conversation hosted by PRS Global on April 16, Megan will join CNO Amanda Shrout and internationally educated nurse Grace Valle to talk about how workforce strategy, team design, and integration connect in practice.
Bringing Strategy to the Unit
Strategy often starts in the boardroom, but its success depends on what happens on the floor. Megan’s approach to staffing decisions, team structure, and support reflects a clear understanding of system goals and a hands-on commitment to daily execution.
In her unit, assignments are made intentionally based on skill mix and patient acuity. Support is built into the shift, not just with experienced nurses placed alongside newer ones, but with proactive leadership presence, visible charge nurses, and a buddy system that ensures no one is left navigating a shift alone.
This reflects a broader shift toward more intentional nurse staffing models that balance experience, onboarding, and team cohesion.
This isn’t a separate structure for international nurses — it’s how the unit is designed to support every nurse, every day.
Orientation That Supports Experience and Transition
Orientation for internationally educated nurses requires a different kind of support, not because they lack experience, but because they’re adjusting to a new system, environment, and culture.
For internationally educated nurses, that means connecting earlier, receiving added training to support the transition, and getting more touchpoints with leadership along the way — all of which Megan will walk through in the webinar.
What stays the same: the goal. What shifts: the support needed to reach it.
Retention That Starts with Belonging
Over time, Megan has seen the impact of strong integration: international nurses who arrive uncertain grow into confident team leaders, preceptors, and mentors. That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident — it’s rooted in how nurses are welcomed, supported, and included from day one.
Retention is not just about keeping nurses, it’s about creating the kind of environment where they want to stay.
Hear the Full Conversation on April 16
Megan’s unit-level view is one part of The Experience Equation — a leadership conversation hosted by PRS Global.
Join Nurse Manager Megan Schwartz, CNO Amanda Shrout, and internationally educated nurse Grace Valle to explore what it really looks like to design cohesive, integrated nursing teams in today’s workforce.