In many states hospitals are struggling to find workers to fill vacant nursing jobs due to a lack of trained professionals. Over the next few years this problem is expected to grow in to a full-fledged shortage unless something is done now. Hoping to cure what could become a serious issue for patient care, Maryland has already begun to take steps toward tackling the problem through education.
According to a recent press release, donors have pledged $15.5 million to help educate new nurses over the next five years. Through these funds, 17 schools in Maryland will be receiving grants that will enable them to hire new nursing faculty members and increase the number of students the teach.
By doing this the number of nurses graduating is expected to increase by 300 students. On top of this there will soon be 20 new nurse training positions opened for those who would like to help educate the next wave of Maryland RNs. All of this has been made possible through the fundraising campaign called “Who Will Care?”
“Less than two years ago we predicted that unless we increased the number of nurses being educated in Maryland we would be short 10,000 nurses by 2016,” said Carmela Coyle, Maryland Hospital Association’s President and CEO, in the recent press release. “Today we are thrilled to announce real progress and are committed to maintaining the momentum we need to reach our goal of adding 1,500 students.”
Chet Burrel, campaign Co-Chair and CareFirst BlueCross President and CEO, feels that this program will also benefit the medical community.
“With major efforts underway to expand health care access, it is likely there will be an even greater need for nurses,” said Burrell. “We have pledged significant support for the program, and the progress of the campaign brings us a step closer to addressing the question of who will care for the next generation of Marylanders.”
Without these funds, Maryland schools would have to continue to turn away a lot of applicants each year because they lacked the teachers to train them, according to the campaign’s Co-Chair Ronald R. Peterson, who is also the President of Hopkins Health Systems.
“Yet the number of nurses graduating in Maryland is not keeping pace with the nurses we will need in the next 10 years. These grants will begin to increase the number of nurses so we won’t face a huge chasm when almost half of the nursing workforce retires just as the baby boomer generation’s health needs reach their peak,” said Peterson. “When the economic downturn ends we will face an exodus of nurses who postponed retirement and expanded their hours.
Tags: healthcare jobs, nursing jobs
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