Houston
Medical
Memorial
Hermann Writes Prescription for
National Nursing Shortages
While many hospitals
around the country struggle with nursing shortages, Memorial Hermann
Healthcare System is rolling out the welcome mat for the freshest minds
in nursing. Ten hospitals across
the System have hired more than 200 nurses for the 2002 internship program,
and with expansion plans under way, more full-time positions and internships
must be filled by early 2003. Additionally, Memorial Hermann offers
a licensed vocational nurse training
program that combines classroom and clinical settings in an academic
program.
According to Margaret
Loper, Memorial Hermann director of strategic recruitment, the vacancy
rate for nurses at hospitals throughout the System is 9.5 percent compared
to a national average of 11 percent. While that puts Memorial Hermann
in an enviable position, Loper cautions that some units within the System
need help. "For instance, night shift and intensive care unit,
their vacancy rate may very well be 25 percent."
Director of Development
& Retention Susan Shelander says the challenge of filling nursing
positions is going to get even greater over the next 20 years as Baby
Boomers reach retirement age. Experts fear that by the year 2020, half
a million nursing positions will go unfilled in this country. That's
about five times the current vacancy rate. What makes this tricky for
Memorial Hermann is a $420 million hospital expansion program that,
at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital alone, means hiring 429 new
nurses by early 2003.
Of those who will
answer the call to join the nursing profession, Shelander notes that
the new work force is not even in nursing school yet. "Some of
them are still in elementary school and junior high. We need to make
nursing attractive to a much younger generation if we expect to have
prepared applicants by high school graduation."
Shelander says Memorial
Hermann's goal is to build "a core, stable medical staff"
at all its facilities. For a nurse, that means someone who "lives
in your community, is part of your community, gives to your community
and is committed to the institution that they're working for."
For more information
about employment and educational opportunities at Memorial Hermann,
call 1-877-JOB-OPPS (562-6777).
Internships
Memorial Hermann
nursing internships are available for recent nursing school graduates,
nurses changing their specialty or nurses re-entering the workforce.
Internships can be adjusted to accommodate a nurse's experience. Areas
of training include:
- Emergency Services
- Medical/Surgical
- Intensive and
Intermediate Care
- Operating Room
- Orthopedics
- Telemetry
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