A many-pronged approach should keep Washington Regional Medical Center ahead
of the field in its efforts to retain and recruit nurses, the center’s new chief
executive nurse said last week.
Penelope Smith came to WRMC in September after serving in a similar capacity
at St. Mary’s Hospital in Russellville for 10 years. During her 28 years as a
nurse, she has come to specialize in nurse recruitment and retention and has won
several awards for her efforts.
"I believe in staying current and thinking ‘out of the box.’ I’m not afraid
to try new things," Smith said.
Her skills are in demand because of a nationwide nursing shortage which Smith
said is caused by a shrinking number of people going into nursing coupled with a
greater demand for nurses.
Many of today’s nurses went into the field when nursing was one of only three
or so occupations that women would consider, Smith said, with the result that
the average age of nurses is now 48.
As those nurses retire, there may be fewer and fewer new nurses to replace
them, Smith said.
To counter this effect at WRMC, Smith is instituting several changes which
she says should help keep nurses on staff and cause others to select the
hospital as their workplace.
One of the most tangible changes — a different sort of compensation formula —
went into effect last month.
Also starting last month, Washington Regional Medical Center nurses are being
paid according to their skills and experience, she said. Nurses who earn
certificates in areas useful to their unit, such as advanced cardiac life
support, advanced pediatrics or as charge nurse, will be paid more.
This replaces a compensation plan under which nurses were paid a base wage
which increased each year regardless of individual accomplishments, Smith said.
All nurses, even new hires, will probably earn more money under the new plan
than the previous one, she said.
"They see that as positive. Nurses like it better when it touches them
personally," she said.
But compensation is not the most important factor in keeping nurses on the
job, Smith said. Studies show that nurses are motivated more by a good work
environment, respect from their employer and participation in decision-making
than they are by their compensation.
Each day she makes herself visible to staff nurses by doing what she calls
"very aggressive rounding." This means she is making the rounds — spending time
talking with staff and student nurses to ask them what they need and what they
are happy about in their jobs — with the goal of retaining them by getting them
more involved in decision-making.
Alongside her retention efforts is a stepped-up program to recruit new nurses
to the hospital and to bring back those who have been out of the profession
awhile.
While the hospital has traditionally recruited from three nearby colleges,
she intends to visit the 13 other nursing schools in the state and some in
neighboring states to tell fledgling nurses about the opportunities at
Washington Regional Medical Center.
Meanwhile, the center plans to "grow" some of its own nurses by identifying
nurse’s aides who would like to be nurses by offering them flexible hours and
tuition assistance to help them toward their goal.
A new program beginning in January will target a source of nurses that is
sometimes overlooked — those who have left their professions to raise a family,
Smith said. They are often hesitant to come back to the profession, even though
they may have kept up their license, because they feel they don’t know the
current practices or medicines, she said.
For nurses in that category, Smith has planned a series of training sessions
at which outof-practice nurses may learn the newest drug therapies, equipment
and theories.
Smith also plans a closer alliance between schools’ medical profession
classes and the hospital. She expects to spend more time visiting classes to
encourage students to choose the nursing profession early on. And she plans to
arrange opportunities for those students to observe nurses in the hospital
setting.
But Smith’s main role will be to stay in touch with the nurses already at the
hospital.
"I’m keeping the nurses informed and involved," she said. "I’m just their
cheerleader."
This story was published Sunday, December 01, 2002 in the Arkansas Demo Gazette