Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1414493
43 NURSING SPOTLIGHT lengthy commutes, while others made a geographic change." At St. Louis Children's Hospital, vacancies are being filled, though slower than usual. At the same time, however, turnover is up, said Peggy Gordin, RN, CNO and vice president of patient care services at the hospital. "We are seeing much higher turnout related to staff leaving to do travel nursing (for perceived experience and higher pay), as well as a lot of retirements," she said. "At the same time, pediatrics is experiencing unusually high volumes for summer, and [we] are starting to see more children admitted with COVID-19 on top of that — a perfect storm." How hospitals are responding Dr. Bredimus said Midland Memorial has had to double down on local growth efforts, partnering with local colleges and high schools. e organization is developing a transition-to-practice program that can start in high school, nursing community colleges and/or paramedic programs. "Wherever we can find folks, we're trying to get them on track for an ADN or BSN so we can get them into the workforce," Dr. Bredimus said. "And then, of course, investing heavily into our practice transition program." Increasing the pool of float nurses has enabled a bit more flexibility at St. Louis Children's Hospital, Ms. Gordin said. is was more ben- eficial during earlier phases of the pandemic when the hospital was able to float pediatric intensive care unit nurses to adult hospitals to support the system's adult COVID-19 patients. Under the current circumstances, however, it's not much of an option. "Unfortunately now with the delta variant wave, we are not able to receive similar help in return because all of us are extremely busy and there are no hospitals with lower vol- umes and staff to reassign," she told Becker's. Mount Sinai has a robust nurse residency pro- gram and is actively partnering with its school of nursing along with other local academic centers to develop and sustain a recruitment pipeline, Dr. Oliver said. e organization is also investing time and effort in fostering a work environment that provides nurses with access to self-care and supportive initiatives. What nurses say could help "It would be great to see national licensing or all states participating in the nursing li- censure compact," Ms. Gordin said. St. Louis Children's Hospital borders Illinois, a state that doesn't participate in a multistate nurs- ing license compact, which limits the ability to move staff around the region, she said. Fewer regulatory mandates that add to nursing documentation requirements would also be helpful, said Ms. Gordin, adding that "another huge need is improved access to in- patient and residential facilities for children and youth with behavioral health needs to reduce burden on acute care facilities." Counterintuitively, the root of the nursing shortage doesn't depend on the number of potential students — there are actually plenty of nurse applicants. Most nursing schools don't have sufficient faculty to teach more applicants, and not because there aren't enough qualified faculty to teach, but because there isn't enough mon- ey to pay them. "We have a need for faculty, but they don't pay enough, so people aren't going into the positions," Dr. Patton said. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 80,407 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2019 because of insufficient resources such as faculty numbers, clinical sites, classroom space and finances. Two- thirds of nursing schools responding to the AACN survey cited a shortage of faculty and/or clinical preceptors as the reason for not accepting qualified applicants. To attract faculty to nursing schools, the AACN recommends several federal and state initiatives, including funding, fellowships and loan forgiveness programs for nurse fac- ulty members. Hospitals should also focus on practice transition by partnering with nursing organizations and schools. All orga- nizations should encourage nurses' use and education of healthcare technology, along with support of further career development. Lastly, a national licensing program, or hav- ing all states participate in a nurse licensure compact, would help rectify the current shortage of nurses and nurse faculty. n Tennessee nursing board pulls license of former Vanderbilt nurse over fatal drug error By Erica Carbajal T he Tennessee Board of Nursing stripped a former nurse at Nashville-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center of her license during a July 23 disciplinary hearing linked to her administering a fatal dose of medicine to a 75-year-old patient in 2017, the Tennessean reported. The nurse, Radonda Leanne Vaught, was indicted on charges of reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse in 2019 and has a criminal trial set for next year. Four details: 1. Ms. Vaught, who has pleaded guilty on all charges, is accused of accidentally injecting the 75-year-old patient in 2017 with vecuronium, a powerful paralyzer intended to keep patients still during surgery. The patient was sup- posed to receive a routine sedative. Vanderbilt fired Ms. Vaught in January 2018. 2. The patient suffered cardiac arrest and died a day after being taken off a breathing machine. 3. During the July 23 medical disciplinary meeting, the nurse said Vanderbilt encouraged nurses to override safeguards on medication cabinets due to a computer program, which she says contributed to the error. "Over- riding was something we did as part of our practice every day," Ms. Vaught said. "You couldn't get a bag of fluids for a patient without using an override function." 4. Vanderbilt declined to comment on the allegations made by Ms. Vaught and her attorney, according to the Tennessean. n