The Solution to the Nursing Shortage Crisis

The nursing shortage crisis needs to be corrected. Exciting students about nursing is definitely a challenge, however, there are many things that can be done to assist in correcting this crisis. The hospital administrator and the nursing staff can work together to explore and implement ways to recruit nurses.

One of the first things that can be done is to educate the public on who the nurse actually is. Nursing staff and administrators need to start with the client. Since almost all hospital employees wear scrubs, it is important to identify to the client who the nurses are as opposed to the housekeeper, dietary, the aids, the unit secretary, etc. Show the client your badge and show them where to look for the name and license designation, and explain that nurses are RNs and LPNs, and that the nurse or doctor is best qualified to answer their questions about medications, treatments or procedures. Explain to the client that the aid will be assigned to help with getting to the bathroom, taking vital signs and things like that, while the nurse will be giving their medications and consulting with the doctor about any changes in symptoms. Clearing up this confusion with the client will aid in distinguishing what the role of the nurse is. Many people still believe the stereotype of nurses as women dressed in white, with white caps, working in hospitals, standing by the bedside with the bedpan, and giving bed baths. Secondly, we need to realize that one of the largest untapped resources for the nursing profession is high school and middle school students. Nursing needs to start recruiting these students and prime them for a career in nursing. Viola Benavente, RN, MSN, assistant professor at the school of nursing at the University of Texas-San Antonio Health Sciences Center states “Middle school is when they start forming and shaping,” she said. “If we can get them interested as early as possible, even in middle school, we will have modeled them a bit. So by the time they get to high school, if they’re focused, serious, conscientious students, they’re already going to know what they want to do.” (Larson, 2005). “It might even be worth working with Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops to pique children’s interest in nursing while they are young”, added Mary Ann Hogan, RN, MSN, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Nursing. Let the kids try out the stethoscopes and other equipment, take each other’s blood pressure – it would be a wonderful hands- on experience for them. (Larson, 2005).

Additionally, a better job needs to be done to promote nursing as a viable career path for men. It would be beneficial to have male nurses make presentations to students and try to remove this stereotype. A study polled 1,800 school-aged children, 2,000 parents and 350 career coaches and high school counselors. It found a profession that was thought of as weak on men, minorities and opportunity. “Whenever we would talk to young male students, they just checked out. Their answer was, “It’s a girl’s job.” (McPeck, 2003). Furthermore, “people actually believed there wasn’t a lot of ability to move forward in a career in nursing-which you went into nursing and stood at the bedside for 40 years.” (McPeck, 2003)

We need educate the school guidance counselors about the nursing profession. They need to know all the facts so that they can council, inform and encourage students who are unsure of their career path to consider the nursing profession. Counselors are getting more newsletters and requests to make presentations to students. Students are getting more chances at scholarships, forgivable loans and other incentives. (Bonfield, 2000) Inform the counselors about the different salaries for the nursing profession. Students were impressed by the starting salaries in nursing. (Murray, 2005)

We need to provide information about nursing as a dynamic profession, discuss the varied roles of the registered nurse, share information on educational programs that lead to a degree in nursing and let students observe the role of an RN in a clinical setting. Some of the information that we need to share with the students is that nursing is a scientific profession directed toward caring for healthy and ill individuals who have physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. The focus of the RN is determined by the career path selected and depends on the nurse’s work setting, education, and experience. The career paths in nursing are clinician, educator, researcher, and administrator. (Walker, 2003).

High school students need to know that nursing is a career with unlimited opportunities, ranging from caring for the very old to the newborn, in settings with high technology like hospital critical care units, and in settings that provide outpatient services like clinics. Nurses care for patients 24 hours a day and carry out a plan of care for each patient. They consult with physicians and other health care team members and possess a variety of skills like knowing how to change dressings, take blood pressure, give injections, and work with complex monitors and equipment. They also teach patients and families about health conditions and provide them with emotional support. (Walker, 2003).

Another idea would be a summer camp for high school students. The hospital administrator could set up a program with UPB where they will sponsor a nursing summer camp. The students would stay in the dorms and tour the participating hospitals. A student would shadow a nursing staff member to find out more about the profession. The University of Pittsburg could follow the example set by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Nursing. UNC sponsors workshops for high school students during the summers. The school recruits about 30-40 students through their high school guidance offices, said Holly Herring, a public relations spokeswoman for the school. The students live in the dorms for a week and visit a hospital affiliated with the university, spending time on various units, accompanied by current nursing students who act as guides and answer questions. (Larson, 2005)

Furthermore, the nursing staff needs to work with administrators to design user-friendly brochures aimed specifically at recruiting high school students into nursing. Together, they can design brochures for their hospital that can be passed around in the schools. The brochure can portray the different departments and opportunities that are available for nurses at their facility. The brochure should also include any scholarship, grant and tuition reimbursement programs that are available through their hospital.

University of Pittsburgh could also follow the path set forth by the University of Maine, Fort Kent (UMFK). UMFK nursing department sponsors an open house, designed to introduce prospective nurses to career and education options. The open house is an opportunity for prospective future nurses to meet professionals in the field and to be exposed to interactive displays, each featuring a specialty in nursing. Information is provided to the junior and senior high school students including details on what nursing is really about, opportunities in the career field, the academic prerequisites and grades required for nursing The students will also interact with professionals including a nurse practitioner, a lactation consultant, a nurse educator, a home health nurse, and current nursing students enrolled in an introduction to nursing course. (UMFK, 2000). The hospital administrator could work together with the university to sponsor this event. The hospital administrator could possibly arrange for students to be bused to the university for this educational opportunity. The open house would enable both UPB and the hospital to combine efforts in recruiting. Students who attend the event will have the opportunity to learn firsthand from nurses working in the numerous specialties, as well as be able to ask questions to college students who are currently enrolled in the nursing program.

The hospital administrator and the nursing staff need to explore ways to fund scholarships for high school graduates. There are many ideas that could be implemented, such as participating staff having payroll deductions for a scholarship to their hospital. Have clients and their families donate money for a combined “memorial scholarship” and list the names of the participants. St. Elizabeth Medical Center gave six high school graduates scholarships valued at up to $4,000 per year. The students agree to work as nurses at St. Elizabeth for two years after graduation. (Bonfield, 2000).

Lastly, nursing needs more advertising in the media. The people who ultimately will turn around the nursing shortage didn’t spend a day in nursing school. They are the geniuses of marketing and advertising programs who are polishing nursing and selling it to teens, those considering second or third careers and nurses themselves. (McPeck, 2003)

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