Nursing shortages born of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted more proactive recruitment and retention practices from health care organizations. At Children’s Hospital New Orleans, that meant revamping a long-standing mentorship program.
“I'm a huge proponent of the nurse tech program, but we needed to get creative,” said Lindsey Casey, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, the hospital’s senior vice president and chief nursing officer. “We needed a strategy that makes our organization attractive to student nurses so we can build a pipeline to fill that staffing gap. We can't just count on external recruitment.”
Casey began her career at Children’s Hospital New Orleans nearly 25 years ago as a nurse tech but recognized the existing program did not meet the demands and interests of the next generation of health care workers. In its original structure, the nurse tech role gave students an introduction to patient care and the organization, but it didn’t fully expose students to the variety of nursing opportunities that exist in a comprehensive pediatric hospital. Casey charged the hospital’s nurse leaders, along with the nursing professional development and education teams, with developing a novel way to address the needs of younger workers.
The result: an innovative program that’s helped the hospital onboard nearly 350 nurses in direct patient care roles over the last two years — 30% more than before its implementation.
The retooled nurse tech program identifies and develops talent across three phases:
- Rotations. In the program’s first phase, participants experience full nursing shifts in each of 12 different care units. The students shadow nurses for about 18 hours in each area, including three ICUs, surgical units, and the pediatric dialysis unit. The exposure helps students identify areas of interest and begin plotting their potential career paths.
- Matching. Like a residency match program, students select three preferred areas of interest based on their experiences in the first phase. A predictive staffing model helps inform students’ selections by identifying units likely to have nursing vacancies upon their graduation. In this phase, they work as nurse techs, gaining unit-specific patient care experience while honing their pediatric nursing skills. It’s also a valuable opportunity for students to build relationships with care team members.
- Training. In their final semester, each student is paired with a nurse in their chosen care unit. Working there as a patient care technician, they gain individualized, hands-on experience to prepare them for a full-time role with the hospital. In many cases, the hospital extends early job offers to nurse techs to fill its projected staff vacancies. “We need to be as proactive as possible in recruiting, and we know the early bird usually gets the worm,” Casey said.
The program has established a pipeline of skilled, bedside-ready nursing talent, with 80% of nurse techs accepting full-time positions. Casey said the program may also contribute to the hospital’s improved nursing retention rates. And though it’s been instrumental in preparing nursing students and acclimating them to the hospital’s culture, the program also improves the hiring process.
“It gives nursing leaders a rather extensive interview period to evaluate candidates and see if they fit our culture,” Casey said.
Program’s benefits justify the effort
Maintaining a nurse tech program of this scope does require significant organizational commitment, Casey said. For example, Children’s Hospital New Orleans employs a program director whose sole responsibility is screening applicants, coordinating schedules, and managing the needs of the more than 100 nursing students participating in the program at any given time. But it’s paid dividends — the program has virtually eliminated the hospital’s use of agency nurses.
“It’s become an incredible pipeline for us,” Casey said. “It is a high-touch program, but it’s well worth the investment.”
