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. Prof. 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. 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.

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, 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. 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 at Robert Wagner School of Public Service, NYU

Community/population health

Nursing workforce

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)

The future of nursing : An interview with Susan B. Hassmiller

Kovner, C. T., & Spetz, J. (2011). (Vols. 29, Issue 1, pp. 32-34+41).

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Geographic Immobility of New Registered Nurses : Implications for Workforce Policy

Corcoran, S. P., Kovner, C. T., & Brewer, C. (2011). (Vols. 30, Issues 12, pp. 2293-2300).

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Health reform in massachusetts and the United States : An interview with Jonathan Gruber

Spetz, J., & Kovner, C. T. (2011). (Vols. 29, Issues 5, pp. 283-285).

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How should we collect data on the nursing workforce?

Spetz, J., & Kovner, C. T. (2011). (Vols. 29, Issues 2, pp. 97-100).

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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.

Newly licensed RNs describe what they like best about being a nurse

Djukic, M., Pellico, L. H., Kovner, C. T., & Brewer, C. S. (2011). (pp. 1-8). 10.1155/2011/968191

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The relative geographic immobility of new registered nurses calls for new strategies to augment that workforce

Kovner, C. T., Corcoran, S. P., & Brewer, C. S. (2011). (Vols. 30, Issues 12, pp. 2293-2300). 10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0108

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Little is known about registered nurses' geographic mobility after they earn their first professional degree and become licensed to practice. Through a cross-sectional mailed survey of newly licensed registered nurses in fifteen states, we found that 52.5 percent work within forty miles of where they attended high school. Our complementary analysis of Census Bureau data shows that next to teaching, nursing is one of the least mobile professions for women, for reasons that remain unclear. To ensure that underserved areas have an adequate workforce of registered nurses, policy makers should expand the number of educational programs in these areas; fund programs that provide incentives to young people from these areas to attend nursing programs; consider supporting extension programs from accredited nursing schools; and review admission policies for nursing programs and the financial aid they offer. If states find it difficult to retain out-of-state graduates, giving preference to in-state applicants may make sense. Finally, programs and policies that offer financial incentives to attract registered nurses to underserved areas, such as the National Health Service Corps and the Area Health Education Centers, are critically important. When sufficiently funded, such programs could serve to offset the low mobility of new registered nurses that we observed.

Generational differences among newly licensed registered nurses

Keepnews, D. M., Brewer, C. S., Kovner, C. T., & Shin, J. H. (2010). (Vols. 58, Issues 3, pp. 155-163). 10.1016/j.outlook.2009.11.001

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Responses of 2. 369 newly licensed registered nurses from 3 generational cohorts-Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y-were studied to identify differences in their characteristics, work-related experiences, and attitudes. These responses revealed significant differences among generations in: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work motivation, work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, distributive justice, promotional opportunities, supervisory support, mentor support, procedural justice, and perceptions of local job opportunities. Health organizations and their leaders need to anticipate intergenerational differences among newly licensed nurses and should provide for supportive working environments that recognize those differences. Orientation and residency programs for newly licensed nurses should be tailored to the varying needs of different generations. Future research should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of orientation and residency programs with regard to different generations so that these programs can be tailored to meet the varying needs of newly licensed nurses at the start of their careers.

Infecção hospitalar em unidade de tratamento intensivo de um hospital universitário brasileiro

de Oliveira, A. C., Kovner, C. T., & da Silva, R. S. (2010). (Vols. 18, Issues 2, pp. 233-239). 10.1590/s0104-11692010000200014

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This prospective study aimed to determine the nosocomial infection (NI) incidence in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), its association with clinical characteristics and occurrence sites. It was carried out among 1.886 patients admitted in an ICU of a University Hospital, from August 2005 to January 2008. Data analysis was done using Fisher's test and Relative Risk (RR). There were 383 NIs (20.3%). The infections were in the urinary tract (n=144; 37.6%), pneumonia (n=98; 25.6%), sepsis (n=58; 15.1%), surgical site (n=54; 14.1%) and others (n=29; 7.7%). Hospitalization average was 19.3 days for patients with NI and 20.2 days for those with colonization by resistant microorganisms. The mortality was 39.5% among patients with NI (RR: 4.4; 3.4-5.6). The NI was associated with patients originated from other units of the institution/emergency unit, more than 4 days of hospitalization, community infection, colonized by resistant microorganisms, using invasive procedures and deaths resulting from NI.

Moving on, up, or out : Changing work needs of new RNs at different stages of their beginning nursing practice

Pellico, L. H., Djukic, M., Kovner, C. T., & Brewer, C. S. (2010). (Vols. 15, Issue 1). 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No01Man08

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This article describes the work experience of a national cohort of 229 RNs who participated in a survey on work environment at two different time periods. Survey results of the RNsâ€™ experience within two and a half years of their initial RN licensure (time period two) are described in detail, and comparisons are made to their experiences one year earlier (time period one). Using Krippendorffâ€™s technique for content analysis, six inter-related themes emerged at time period two. Findings indicate that the working environment of RNs impacts both nursesâ€™ satisfaction and their dissatisfaction. Factors associated with dissatisfaction center on the lack of nurse manager leadership, persistent verbal abuse, high patient-to-nurse ratios, and the physical demands of bedside nursing that result in injuries. Suggestions from the nurses themselves are used to guide strategies to improve the work environment and retain nurses.

New nurses' views of quality improvement education

Kovner, C. T., Brewer, C. S., Yingrengreung, S., & Fairchild, S. (2010). (Vols. 36, Issue 1, pp. 29-35). 10.1016/s1553-7250(10)36006-5

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Background: Quality improvement (QI) is a focus of hospital managers and policymakers. The role of registered nurses (RNs) in QI in hospitals is vital because most hospital-based RNs provide direct care to patients. QI skills are necessary to identify gaps between current care and best practice and to design, implement, test, and evaluate changes and are essential for R.N.s to participate effectively in QI. Newly licensed registered nurses' (new nurses') positions as direct caregivers could have an impact on QI if nurses lack sufficient knowledge, concepts, and tools required for QI. Methods: Data came from the 436 respondents (69.4% response rate) to a 2008 eight-page mailed survey to participants in a nationally representative panel survey of new nurses who graduated between August 1, 2004, and July 31, 2005. Results: Overall, 159 (38.6%) of new nurses thought that they were "poorly" or "very poorly" prepared about or had "never heard of" QI. Their perceptions of preparation varied widely by the specific topic. Baccalaureate (B.S.) graduates reported significantly higher levels of preparation than associate degree (A.D.) graduates in evidence-based practice; assessing gaps in practice, teamwork, and collaboration; and many of the research-type skills such as data collection, analysis, measurement, and measuring resulting changes. Discussion: Registered-nurse educational programs need to improve education about and application of QI concepts and to consider focusing QI content into a separate course to have some confidence that faculty will teach it. Despite the strong focus on QI in hospitals, new nurses do not see the connection between QI education and successfully performing their hospital jobs. Both nursing programs and hospitals should help new nurses make the connection.

Faculty