About the Research and Data Unit
Every year the research unit takes on several types of projects along with standing annual items including external data requests, the Student Engagement Program, and assisting with preparing and analyzing data-driven reports. The unit performs survey data collection, analysis, and reporting through SurveyMonkey and other platforms. They also develop and maintain public-facing data dashboards that display up-to-date information on Washington’s nursing workforce, education, licensing, and discipline, improving interactive access to survey data. The research team continues to find new avenues to improve data access and efficiency.
What’s New
Discrimination Research
In 2023, we looked at Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON) disciplinary cases from Case Management Team (CMT) meetings to explore better ways of addressing complaints of discrimination. We collected 59 closed nursing complaint cases across six months and characterized types of discrimination. As a result, we improved our disciplinary processes, including an updated complaint intake form, updated criteria for opening cases, and a new policy statement on discrimination.
In collaboration with the Discipline Unit, we developed three new questions on discrimination that were added to the Discipline Unit’s complaint intake form. These questions will help provide more specific information on the discrimination that occurred in complaints, as well as allow us to collect better data on this topic in the future. We also added discrimination as a criteria for opening cases or for early remediation in the procedure A06.10 Review of Board Reports.
Workforce Data Updates
New content was added to this dashboard in August of 2025. This update was brought about by significant changes in our licensing system.
Changes Included
- Transitioned to HELMS data for the Washington state nursing workforce
- Added a new Workforce Trends report
- Added a new Population Comparison report
Research Subcommittee information
The Research Subcommittee has ended as of January 2026 and will no longer meet as a subcommittee.