Christine T Kovner

Christine Tassone Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN is a Professor Emerita. She was the Mathy Mezey Professor of Geriatric Nursing at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and a professor of medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Kovner is the Editor-in-Chief of Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice. She is a highly respected nurse educator and researcher with more than 150 published articles. Her research focuses on quality improvement, RN working conditions, and nursing care costs. For five years she was the principal investigator for the TL1 Pre- and Post-Doctoral Program of NYU's NIH funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Kovner was the principal investigator of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant studying the career trajectories of newly licensed registered nurses over the first ten years of their careers. As a clinical nurse, she was proud to provide COVID vaccinations at Langone Health.

Dr. Kovner was a visiting scholar at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Policy for two years and has served on many government policy committees, including New York’s State Hospital Review and Planning Council. She has served as a grant reviewer for the NIH, NIOSH, and the Department of Defense among others.

Among her many honors, Dr. Kovner was awarded the Diane O. McGivern Award in 2024. The award recognizes an NYU Meyers graduate for outstanding work in legislation and policy on behalf of professional nursing. Dr. Kovner received the Excellence in Policy Award from Nursing Outlook for “Diversity and education of the nursing workforce 2006-2016,” in 2019, the IRGNI Research Mentorship Award from Academy Health (2018), the Eastern Nursing Research Society Distinguished Contributions to Nursing Research Award (2018), the Golden Pen Award from the Journal for Healthcare Quality (2007), and the Lavinia Dock Distinguished Service Award from the New York Counties Registered Nurses Association.

PhD - New York University

MSN - University of Pennsylvania

BS - Columbia University School of Nursing

Post-doctoral Fellowship - Robert Wagner School of Public Service, NYU

Nursing workforce

Community/population health

American Academy of Nursing Fellow

AcademyHealth

Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science

Sigma Theta Tau

International Association of Clinical Research Nurses

Diane O. McGivern Award, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing (2024)

Excellence in Policy Award, Nursing Outlook (2019)

IRGNI Research Mentorship Award, Academy Health (2018)

Distinguished Contributions to Nursing Research Award (2018)

Treasurer, CGFNS International, Inc. (2016)

Distinguished Alumna Award, New York University, College of Nursing (2012)

Nursing Outlook Excellence in Policy Award for “State Mandatory Overtime Regulations and Newly Licensed Nurses’ Mandatory and Voluntary Overtime and Total Work Hours.” (2012)

Vernice Ferguson Faculty Scholar Award, New York University, College of Nursing (2010)

Golden Pen Award for “Exploring the Utility of Automated Drug Alerts in Home Healthcare,” Journal for Healthcare Quality (2007)

Health Policy and Legislation Award, New York University, College of Nursing (2006)

Honorary Recognition Award, New York Counties Registered Nurses Association (1999)

Best of Image Award in Health Policy Scholarship, for “Nurse Staffing Levels and Adverse Events Following Surgery in U. S. Hospitals," Journal of Nursing (1999)

Alumni Award for Distinguished Career in Nursing, Columbia University-Presbyterian Hospital Alumni Association (1996)

Distinguished Nurse Researcher, Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association (1994)

Lavinia Dock Distinguished Service Award, New York Counties Registered Nurses Association (1992)

Martha E. Rogers Scholarship Award, Upsilon Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau (1983)

Original research: New nurses: Has the recession increased their commitment to their jobs? Findings from surveys conducted among newly licensed RNs in 2006 and 2009

Brewer, C. S., Kovner, C. T., Yingrengreung, S., & Djukic, M. (2012). American Journal of Nursing, 112(3), 34-44. 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000412637.63022.d4

Abstract

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Current evidence suggests that the economic recession has induced retired RNs to reenter nursing and working nurses to work more hours and delay retirement, thus easing the projected RN shortage. We wondered whether the economic downturn had affected new nurses' work attitudes and behaviors, including those related to turnover. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions about job opportunities, as well as key attitudinal variables (such as job satisfaction and intent to stay), in two cohorts of newly licensed RNs. METHODS: Our data came from two sources: a subset of new RNs licensed between August 1, 2004, and July 31, 2005, who were part of a larger 2006 study on turnover, and a later cohort of new RNs licensed between August 1, 2007, and July 31, 2008. We mailed survey questionnaires to one cohort before the recession in 2006 and to a second cohort during the recession in 2009. RESULTS: We found that RNs' commitment to their current employers was higher in the later cohort than in the earlier one, although neither nurses' incomes nor their reported job satisfaction levels had changed. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that, despite some improvements in working conditions, newly licensed RNs may just be waiting for the recession to end before changing jobs. Health care organizations' efforts to improve RNs' working conditions and wages, and to implement or support existing programs aimed at increasing retention, should be continued.

The Perils of Great Medical Care-Overuse?

Kovner, C. T. (2012). Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 13(1), 5-7. 10.1177/1527154412443287

Abstract

Abstract

This essay, a personal reflection on the major medical center diagnosis and treatment odyssey, in which it is not clear that more testing and greater interventions achieve the highest value.

Predictors of actual turnover in a national sample of newly licensed registered nurses employed in hospitals

Brewer, C. S., Kovner, C. T., Greene, W., Tukov-Shuser, M., & Djukic, M. (2012). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(3), 521-538. 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05753.x

Abstract

Abstract

Aim. This paper is a report of a study of factors that affect turnover of newly licensed registered nurses in United States hospitals. Background. There is a large body of research related to nursing retention; however, there is little information specific to newly licensed registered nurse turnover. Incidence rates of turnover among new nurses are unknown because most turnover data are not from nationally representative samples of nurses. Method. This study used a longitudinal panel design to obtain data from 1653 registered nurses who were recently licensed by examination for the first time. We mailed surveys to a nationally representative sample of hospital registered nurses 1year apart. The analytic sample consisted of 1653 nurses who responded to both survey mailings in January of 2006 and 2007. Results. Full-time employment and more sprains and strains (including back injuries) result in more turnover. Higher intent to stay and hours of voluntary overtime and more than one job for pay reduces turnover. When we omitted intent to stay from the probit model, less job satisfaction and organizational commitment led to more turnover, confirming their importance to turnover. Magnet Recognition Award ® hospitals and several other work attributes had no effect on turnover. Conclusion. Turnover problems are complex, which means that there is no one solution to decreasing turnover. Multiple points of intervention exist. One specific approach that may improve turnover rates is hospital policies that reduce strains and sprains.

State mandatory overtime regulations and newly licensed nurses' mandatory and voluntary overtime and total work hours

Bae, S. H., Brewer, C. S., & Kovner, C. T. (2012). Nursing Outlook, 60(2), 60-71. 10.1016/j.outlook.2011.06.006

Abstract

Abstract

Nurse overtime has been used to handle normal variations in patient census and to control chronic understaffing. By 2010, 16 states had regulations to limit nurse overtime. We examined mandatory overtime regulations and their association with mandatory and voluntary overtime and total hours worked by newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs). For this secondary data analysis, we used a panel survey of NLRNs; the final dataset consisted of 1,706 NLRNs. Nurses working in states that instituted overtime regulations after 2003 or in states that restricted any type of mandatory overtime had a lower probability of experiencing mandatory overtime than those nurses working in states without regulations. Nurses who worked in states with mandatory overtime regulations reported fewer total hours worked per week. The findings of this study provided insight into how mandatory overtime regulations were related to nurse mandatory and voluntary overtime and the total number of hours worked. Future research should investigate institutions' compliance with regulations and the impact of regulations on nurse and patient outcomes.

White and black teachers' job satisfaction: Does relational demography matter?

Fairchild, S., Tobias, R., Corcoran, S., Djukic, M., Kovner, C., & Noguera, P. (2012). Urban Education, 47(1), 170-197. 10.1177/0042085911429582

Abstract

Abstract

Data on the impact of student, teacher, and principal racial and gender composition in urban schools on teacher work outcomes are limited. This study, a secondary data analysis of White and Black urban public school teachers using data taken from the restricted use 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), examines the effects of relational demography on teacher job satisfaction adjusting for other known determinants of job satisfaction. Relational demography is conceptualized as a set of racial and gender congruency items between teachers and principals, teachers and teachers, and teachers and students. The results of the study show that some components of relational demography directly affect teacher job satisfaction, over and above the effects of work-related attitudes.

Work environment factors other than staffing associated with nurses' ratings of patient care quality

Djukic, M., Kovner, C., Brewer, C. S., Fatehi, F. K., & Cline, D. (2012). Journal of Nursing Administration, 42, S17-S26. 10.1097/01.NNA.0000420391.95413.88

Abstract

Abstract

Background: The impact of registered nurse (RN) staffing on patient care quality has been extensively studied. Identifying additional modifiable work environment factors linked to patient care quality is critical as the projected shortage of approximately 250,000 RNs over the next 15 years will limit institutions' ability to rely on RN staffing alone to ensure high-quality care. Purpose: Weexamined the association between RNs' ratings of patient care quality and several novelwork environment factors adjusting for the effects of two staffing variables: reported patient-to-RN ratios and ratings of staffing adequacy. Methodology: We used a cross-sectional, correlational design and a mailed survey to collect data in 2009 from a national sample of RNs (n = 1,439) in the United States. A multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Findings: Workgroup cohesion, nurseYphysician relations, procedural justice, organizational constraints, and physical work environment were associated with RNs' ratings of quality, adjusting for staffing. Furthermore, employment in a Magnet hospital and job satisfaction were positively related to ratings of quality, whereas supervisory support was not. Practice Implications: Our evidence demonstrates the importance of considering RN work environment factors other than staffing when planning improvements in patient care quality. Health caremanagers can use the results of our study to strategically allocate resources toward work environment factors that have the potential to improve quality of care.

Commuting to work: RN travel time to employment in rural and urban areas

Rosenberg, M. C., Corcoran, S. P., Kovner, C., & Brewer, C. (2011). Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 12(1), 46-54. 10.1177/1527154411411926

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the variation in average daily travel time to work among registered nurses (RNs) living in urban, suburban, and rural areas. We examine how travel time varies across RN characteristics, job setting, and availability of local employment opportunities. Method: Descriptive statistics and linear regression using a 5% sample from the 2000 Census and a longitudinal survey of newly licensed RNs (NLRN). Travel time for NLRN respondents was estimated using geographic information systems (GIS) software. Findings: In the NLRN, rural nurses and those living in small towns had significantly longer average commute times. Young married RNs and RNs with children also tended to have longer commute times, as did RNs employed by hospitals. Conclusions: The findings indicate that travel time to work varies significantly across locale types. Further research is needed to understand whether and to what extent lengthy commute times impact RN workforce needs in rural and urban areas.

Early career RNs' perceptions of quality care in the hospital setting

Cline, D. D., Rosenberg, M. C., Kovner, C. T., & Brewer, C. (2011). Qualitative Health Research, 21(5), 673-682. 10.1177/1049732310395030

Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore early-career registered nurses' perceptions of high-quality nursing care in hospitals. The study findings contribute to ongoing work intended to explore and define what quality nursing care is and how it ultimately impacts patients. The final sample analyzed for this article consisted of 171 narrative responses from hospital-based registered nurses. We used Krippendorff's technique for qualitative content analysis to identify themes. Three themes emerged as integral to high quality nursing care: registered nurse presence, developing relationships, and facilitating the flow of knowledge and information. Development of nursing quality indicators should focus on nursing processes in addition to patient outcomes. Such a focus would better capture the complexity of hospital nursing care.

Geographic Immobility of New Registered Nurses: Implications for Workforce Policy

Corcoran, S., Kovner, C., & Brewer, C. (2011). Health Affairs, 30(12), 2293-2300.

How should we collect data on the nursing workforce?

Spetz, J., & Kovner, C. T. (2011). Nursing Economics, 29(2), 97-100.

Abstract

Abstract

Researchers who study the nursing workforce use data about nurses and data about nursing jobs. Different approaches - sample surveys and relicensure surveys - used to collect data on RNs, and the benefits and weaknesses of these approaches, are reviewed. Predicting the future supply of nurses is more complex than estimating the current supply, as factors that affect future supply must be considered. Simple forecasts can be created with relatively few variables, which could be collected through relicensure surveys. However, more detailed assessments of potential retirement patterns, changing family norms regarding child-care and household work, and movements into higher education require the rich data more often found in sample surveys.

Faculty