Nursing a solution
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
lpark@standard.net
Companies try to lure students in face of shortage
LAYTON -- Utah hospitals and health care providers are getting creative in recruiting nurses to avoid shortages hitting other areas of the country.
Nationwide, there is almost a 9 percent shortage of nurses, so hiring and retaining nurses is an investment for the future.
Health care companies like Intermountain Healthcare, MountainStar and Davis Hospital and Medical Center invest in nursing programs as a way to attract more nurses to their facilities.
The companies donate funds so nursing programs can hire educators, expand programs and build virtual clinical labs.
But even with the donations, available slots for qualified nursing students are limited.
Only about one-third of qualified nursing applicants were in programs across the state. Nationwide, 30,000 potential nursing students were turned away.
For the 2007-08 school year, 1,110 qualified students applied for Weber State University's nursing program, said Dr. Catherine Earl, nursing department chairwoman. Of those, only 525 were accepted.
The news was more grim at Davis Applied Technology College, where 400 students applied for 40 slots in fall 2007, said Amy Stegan, nursing and health professions coordinator.
It's not just high school graduates who are looking at the nursing profession as a career choice, Stegan said. College graduates with degrees in other areas and professionals in other fields are now considering nursing.
Officials say the nursing shortage cannot be solved by adding more students to nursing programs. The problem starts at the educator level.
Nursing programs at WSU, DATC and Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College need more faculty before students can be added.
Mary Lou Morales, coordinator of the practical nursing program at Ogden-Weber ATC, said the National League for Nursing requires nurse educators to have at least a master's degree.
Because there is a limited number of nurses with master's degrees who are willing to teach, nursing programs are offering tuition reimbursement to those who continue their education in order to teach, she said.
Increasing student numbers also would require additional classroom and clinical space.
Student nurses are required to have clinical hours at a hospital before they can graduate. With a limited number of hospitals along the Wasatch Front, the waiting list for clinical time is long, officials said.
Private companies, such as Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, donated funds to build a virtual lab at DATC, which is also used by WSU students.
The virtual lab offers the same experience as being in the hospital and significantly increases the number of students graduating each semester, said Mike Jensen, chief executive officer and president of Davis Hospital and Medical Center.
"We've been lucky not to experience the same (nursing) shortages I've seen across the country," he said.
The Department of Labor projects Utah will need 24,000 nurses by 2014. According to the state's Division of Occupational & Professional Licensing Web site, www.dopl.utah.gov, there were 25,283 licensed nurses in 2007, an increase from 2005 of 602 nurses.
While it appears Utah has reached its goal, the numbers are deceiving.
"Licensed nurses and working nurses are two different things," said David Squire, executive director of the Utah Medical Education Council. "Between 65 (percent) and 70 percent are actually working."
That puts the state at 17,000 working nurses, which means hospitals and other health care facilities must be creative in recruiting and retaining nurses.
MountainStar, the parent company of nine hospitals in Utah, including Ogden Regional Medical Center, Brigham City Community Hospital and Lakeview Hospital, hired FORTHGEAR in Kaysville.
FORTHGEAR is a communication and marketing firm that has helped get MountainStar's name out in the public, said Nadine Matthews, division director of recruiting with MountainStar.
"The best recruitment tool is retention," said Jo Burt, chief nursing officer at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
Bringing on new nurses is one thing, but keeping those who are already hired is another, she said. One way is to keep nurses is by providing flexibility in scheduling so nurses can spend more time with their family.
Another is to hire staff for nonskilled jobs to augment nurses, she said. Those staff members bring in the food trays, help with baths and take vital signs, leaving the nurse to do more of the complex tasks in order to create a good work environment.
Intermountain Healthcare is seeking to have all of its hospitals receive the "Magnet Recognition," which is awarded by the American Nursing Credentialing Center, said Nancy Nowak, vice president of clinical operations chief nursing operation.
Several of its Salt Lake City hospitals and Utah County hospitals have already received the award. McKay-Dee Hospital Center is working toward it, she said.
Nowak said nurses look for the recognition because it means an outside agency has looked at how nurses are treated and what the work environment is like.
Intermountain Healthcare also teams new graduates with a nursing coach in order to prevent burnout within the first couple of years, Nowak said.
"We want them to be satisfied and comfortable with their work."
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