Help Wanted: Nurses please apply
Hospitals offer incentives to combat nursing shortage
By Joan Tupponce CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jamie Graff picks up her son, Hayden, from the daycare center at CJW Medical Center's Johnston-Willis campus.

Suzanne Robinson worries about the nursing shortage that's plaguing the nation. It's the worst shortage she's seen in her 28-year nursing career.

The nursing shortage isn't just limited to the United States. It's a worldwide concern. Nurses are in demand across the globe. Because of that reality, the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists nursing as one of the top 10 occupations that will see growth between 2004 and 2014.

There are several factors causing the shortage - more opportunities in other career fields, a shortage of nursing instructors and an aging population, to name a few.

"There used to be two options for women when it comes to careers - nursing and teaching," observed Robinson, patient coordinator at CJW Medical Center. "Now women have so many career options to choose from."

For the past few years, hospitals nationwide, including St. Francis and CJW medical centers in Chesterfield, have been in a heated competition to attract nurses to their facilities. In an effort to recruit and retain the best nursing talent, local hospitals are now offering lucrative incentives such as continuing education, tuition reimbursement and onsite daycare.

Kristin Jennings, a registered nurse who works in the emergency department at St. Francis Medical Center, checks a patient's breathing.

St. Francis Medical Center

"We create programs that speak to nurses who are coming to work for us," said Bonnie Shelor, vice president for human resources at Bon Secours Richmond Health System. Bon Secours operates St. Francis Medical Center.

Recently, Bon Secours was ranked in the Top 10 of Working Mother's 100 Best Companies for 2006 and was named one of AARP's "Best Employers for Workers Over 50," placing in the top three nationwide.

"We were recognized for our onsite childcare, flexible scheduling and also nurses over the age of 50," Shelor explained. "We have a commitment to the aging workforce. Currently, the average age of our nurses is 41."

Bon Secours is hoping that its new oncology center at St. Francis along with new technologies, continuing education and flexible schedules will help attract nurses. The organization also has a strong mentoring program to help new nurses.

Terrie Edwards, executive vice president/ administrator at St. Francis, believes that nurses are drawn to the center's new environment.

"It's exciting for someone who is invigorated by change," she observed. "We are continually coming up with benefits and flexible schedules. Bonnie has done a nice job of recruiting people whose mission and values are in line with Bon Secours - they appreciate the spiritual aspect of healing and our caring, compassionate philosophy."

The organization works to help nurses balance work and life. Shelor believes that focus does bring nurses to the organization. "We have found that nurses want to work for an organization that is aligned with their own values of care and compassion," she said. "We believe that taking care of our staff translates to excellent care for our patients."

Bon Secours helps bring new nurses into the field through its School of Nursing. The school graduates 100 nurses every year. "We populate our own hospitals and help relieve the nursing shortage elsewhere in Richmond," Shelor said.

The School of Nursing offers a loan program for any student. "If that nurse comes to work for us, we write that loan off," Shelor said. "It's about a three-year commitment."

Bon Secours is also interested in helping its nurses further their education and advance within the organization. To that end, Bon Secours reimburses employees up to $5,000 per year for education expenses.

"Our education reimbursement has been positively received," noted Amy Showalter, nurse executive for St. Francis.

CJW Medical Center

CJW Medical Center also provides tuition reimbursement with start-up money as well as multiple job and development opportunities. The organization, which is also listed as one of Working Mother's 100 Best Companies for 2006, has an affiliated daycare center at its Johnston-Willis campus. CJW offers a loan repayment program for school debt.

As a way of addressing the nursing shortage, CJW partners with John Tyler Community College's nursing program in a public-private partnership. "Students come into the hospital and do clinical rotations," Robinson explained.

CJW also works with the Commonwealth Nurse Program, an online program that is part of a consortium of three Virginia Community Colleges - John Tyler, Blue Ridge Community College and Germanna Community College. In the program, students complete their classroom work online. After passing a test on the coursework, students are eligible for the clinical part of their studies.

Along with the Commonwealth Nurse Program, CJW works with nursing students from the VCU School of Nursing, J. Sargeant Reynolds, Southside Regional, Chesterfield Technical Center, Virginia State University and the Powhatan Vocational Technical Center.

"We have clinical students assigned at the hospital seven days a week," Robinson said. "We usually have two shifts of nursing students during the day and evening."

CJW also has a nurse residency program that graduated its first class of nine nurses last summer. The organization receives applications from across the country. New nursing graduates must have a 3.0 GPA before they can apply to the program.

"That's tough to get," Robinson said. "They also have to be interviewed by a panel."

During the 12-week program, students attend class at least once a week.

"They tell us what clinical areas they are interested in, and we try to arrange opportunities for them to work two, three or four weeks in the area, depending on rotation," Robinson explained.

Nurses who have earned the title of clinical nurse expert work with residents. Clinical experts also work with new hires.

"It's very unusual to have a residency program outside of a university medical center," Robinson said. "Our CEO, Peter Marmerstein, and our chief nursing officer, Sharon Hayes, have been very supportive of the program. Having a structured orientation program that is facilitated by clinical nurse experts helps us retain new nurses."

Future predictions

Showalter predicts that the nursing shortage will get worse before getting better.

"We think the nursing shortage will peak in 2010," she said.

The shortage of faculty at nursing schools makes it difficult to graduate nurses at a faster pace. Robinson, like others in the industry, hopes that more nurses will opt to take graduate courses and become teachers.

"We are fortunate in Virginia to have so many places that nurses can train and advance their degrees so they can teach," she said.

Within the hospital, there are areas where recruiting can be challenging such as the med/surgical unit. "It's a tough specialty," Robinson said. "But it's a good foundation for future career advancement."

For Robinson and others like her, nursing is a passion.

"It's a calling that you don't enter into lightly," she said. "It's the toughest job you will ever love."