Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1111624
Deborah McCoy RN, M.S., FACHE Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Methodist Hospital of Southern California We are actually trying to keep enough staff! Hospitals are often short-staffed in areas of higher clinical expertise, such as critical care, the emergency department and labor & deliv- ery. Keeping enough experi- enced staff is a challenge. We are considering a new grad program for nurses who want to stay with us for a num- ber of years: a comprehensive, multi-year nurse residency. That's what you need in order to "grow your own" in terms of experience and expertise. We want to allow nurses to advance and grow into a spe- cialty they want. For example, if someone comes in saying they want to be an ICU nurse, our education and develop- ment plan would be designed to train them for that role, including clinical skills, inter- disciplinary collaboration, decision-making and perform- ance improvement projects. Jinhee Nguyen RN, MSN Vice President and Patient Care Executive Adventist Health Glendale Shortages and surpluses are cyclical, but as long as there's a need for healthcare profes- sionals, nursing demand will be there as well. One challenge I see is that many nurses are leaving the acute care setting. New gradu- ate nurse were always expect- ed to start in acute care in the hospital setting. Today, new graduates can work in outpa- tient clinics or as case man- agers for insurance companies fresh out of nursing school. At the same time, many experi- enced nurses are leaving acute care to become advanced practice nurses. The fact that there are so many choices for nurses is what makes the profession so special. However, this is mak- ing it very difficult to keep trained nurses in specialized areas such as ICU. Sherry Nolfe RN, MSN Chief Nursing Officer Loma Linda University Children's Hospital There will always be a need for a nurse. The challenge we face is the balance of new gradu- ates and experienced nurses. Our hospital has a robust RN residency program with great retention statistics. As an institution, we are also investing in our retention of experienced nurses as well as the recruitment of experi- enced nurses. The trick is to keep all three of these pro- grams healthy in order to maintain a strong nursing workforce. Gloria Sanchez-Rico RN, BSN, MBA, NEA-BC Sr. Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Huntington Hospital I expect that we will reach an equilibrium. However, there will still be regions and spe- cialties where there will be shortages. We are preparing by focus- ing on new graduate programs in departments and areas where we expect shortages. We are getting creative in our recruiting — for example, recruiting from the medical- surgical departments for hard-to-recruit specialty areas such as the operating room and critical care unit. By doing so, we are both accomplishing our patient care goals and giving nurses the opportunity to grow, fol- low their passions and be professionally satisfied. Veena Vangari RN, BSN, MBA, M.A., PGDHM, CRRN, HACP Chief Nursing Officer California Rehabilitation Institute A Cedars/UCLA Health Partnership Nursing has many branches and almost limitless career options, including case man- agement, education, clinical informatics and legal work. This is very challenging from a staffing perspective because it can create pseudo- shortages of clinical nurses as staff seek other roles that fit their lives and personal goals. Each healthcare organization is competing to keep clinical floor nurses engaged and working. To maintain a robust work- force, hospital leadership should be sensitive to the staff, listen to them, be aware of the trends in healthcare and consider what innovations can be brought in to keep Millennial nurses engaged. Q & A STAFFING Do you predict a nursing shortage in the coming decade? Any advice for nurses navigating tomorrow's job market? 34 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com Veena Vangari with Atousa Salehi, RN, BSN (left), and Andrew Palor, RN, BSN