Toward standardization (Part 2): National nursing minimum data sets consensus building and implementation status.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the development of a National Workforce Commission, multiple entities have increased their interest in collecting standardized health care workforce data at the state and national levels. In a tight budget environment, developing data sets which collect the minimum needed information that is necessary for workforce planning and supply/demand projections has become critically needed. This article represents the second of a two part series describing the work that the Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers has undertaken during the last 3 years toward standardizing nursing workforce data. Part I described the initial steps that informed the development of national nursing workforce minimum data sets. Part II describes the consensus model used to develop the minimum data sets as well as an update on the implementation of the minimum data sets in individual states including challenges and barriers encountered.