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Addressing the Nursing Shortage in Mid-Michigan
The regional collaborative, Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN) project is up and running. This project is a collaboration among the following organizations: Midland Area Community Foundation, Bay Area Community Foundation, Saginaw Community Foundation, The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, Delta College, Mid Michigan Community College, Saginaw Valley State University’s Crystal M. Lang College of Nursing and Health Services, Kirtland Community College, MidMichigan Health, Bay Regional Medical Center, St. Mary’s of Michigan, Covenant Health Care, and the Hospital Council of East Central Michigan. This group will address the issue of nursing shortages in Mid-Michigan. This group has been meeting to work toward resolving the nursing crisis facing the Mid-Michigan area. This crisis is noticeable to any local nurse who is attempting to sign up for courses at a local college or university. There are not enough instructors to facilitate the number of local students. Some universities have advertised teaching positions in their Nursing Colleges only to have one or two applicants. This lack of instructors leads to a lack of courses, which in turn reduces the number of students who graduate from nursing colleges in the area. With nursing jobs in high demand, local hospitals and medical facilities find it difficult to recruit local candidates for nursing jobs. The PIN project received funding from the Northwest Health Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2007. Since then, the group has been actively meeting to begin implementing the project. Specific nurses from each medical organization have applied and been selected. These nurses are known as Practice Scholars. These nurses are either working toward their Masters in Nursing Degrees or their Doctorate Degrees. As a Practice Scholar, these nurses are still employed in a clinical setting while becoming more highly qualified and able to teach in the nursing programs at local colleges. Their expertise is maintained by their clinical work while they attain a more advanced education. Because the nurses involved work at the local hospitals, they have a tie to the community and are making long-term commitments to the program. Part mentor, part student, part teacher, part practicing nurse; these Practice Scholars will be fully involved in their own learning, the application of that learning and the sharing of their knowledge of others. The Practice Scholars’ ability to teach certification courses at local education institutions will lead to more educational opportunities for young people entering the profession and help address the nursing shortage in the area.