An examination of nursing needs in the Rockford, Illinois area

1
An examination of nursing needs in the Rockford,
Illinois area

• Michelle Bunyer1, Terese Burch2, Joel Cowen1
• 1Health Systems Research, UIC College of Medicine
• 2Saint Anthony College of Nursing

2
Introduction

• Study conducted by HSR for Saint Anthony College
  of Nursing
• Designed to determine
• Skills and personal characteristics desired in
  todays nurse
• Current and future need for nurses
• Ways nursing education programs can better
  prepare students for employment

3
Method

• Qualitative study conducted in the three-county
  area surrounding Rockford, Illinois
• Structured, in-person interviews
• Directors of Nursing
• Vice Presidents of Nursing
• Unit Nursing Managers
• Human Resources Managers

4

• 23 organizations represented (77 response)
• 36 individuals interviewed
• Hospital
• Home health care
• Public health
• Physician office/clinic
• Insurance
• Mental health
• Nursing home
• School district
• Ambulatory surgery

5

• 20 structured questions
• Interviews lasted 30-60 minutes
• HSR interviewer, UIC College of Nursing graduate
  student note-taker
• HSR staff member prepared a detailed summary of
  each session
• Session summaries were examined for common themes
  and opinions for each of the 20 questions

6
BSN vs. ADN Nurses

• Four in ten prefer BSN over ADN, most others have
  no preference, a few prefer ADN
• Pay is the generally the same
• Equivalent clinical skills, or ADN better
• BSN better for critical thinking,
  decision-making, organization, global thinking,
  leadership

7
Masters Level Nurses

• Hospitals, large physician offices/clinics, home
  health, public health
• Provide leadership, good communication skills,
  global perspective on patient care, ability to
  conduct research, and patient education skills
• Bring credibility to nursing profession among
  hospital administrators

8
New Nursing Graduates

• Need strong interpersonal skills, willingness to
  learn, positive attitude
• Many are not prepared to perform basic nursing
  tasks, but can be taught if they have the right
  attitude
• Local hospitals spend much time and money
  training new graduates to work in specialty units

9
Experienced Nurses

• Need good assessment and critical thinking
  skills, experience in various settings, strong
  interpersonal, delegation, and communication
  skills
• Best are patient advocates, team-oriented,
  open-minded, with strong interpersonal skills

10
Qualities Difficult to Find

• Comfortable delegating basic patient care
  responsibilities to other members of the health
  care team
• Willingness to work hours needed (nights,
  weekends, holidays), especially younger nurses
• Good interpersonal skills

11
Work Place Adaptation

• Unit culture in hospitals, intense working
  environment
• Slow pace, non-technical nature of long-term care
• Independence for school and home health
• Working in the field for community mental health
  and home health

12
Current Nursing Supply

• Nursing shortage for hospitals, home health,
  long-term care
• Lack of nurses with specialty experience
• Departure from hospital setting
• Demand for ICU, CCU, OR, ER, Telemetry
• Sufficient supply for clinics, public health,
  school systems, state agencies, ambulatory surgery

13
Future Nursing Demand

• According to IDES, 19.4 increase in RN positions
  from 1996 to 2006
• Extensive growth for home health, long-term care,
  slower for hospitals
• Could face a shortage in home health, long-term
  care, hospitals
• Even with use of more nurse extenders to provide
  basic patient care, RNs will always be needed for
  their advanced training

14
Nursing as a Career

• Would not advise irregular, long hours, physical
  and emotional stress, liability, low pay for high
  responsibility, lack of respect from physicians
• Would advise emotional fulfillment, various
  career opportunities, flexible scheduling, job
  availability

15
Improving Nursing Education

• Require more clinical hours through hands-on
  experience
• Carry full patient load and work a full shift
• Obtain specialty experience before licensure
• Provide a curriculum that applies theory to
  practice
• Provide activities to develop leadership and
  delegation skills