As hospitals continue to do everything possible to attract nurses, building critically important pipelines has become a future promise — not a right-now solution.
That's why New Brunswick, N.J.-based Saint Peter's University Hospital, in addition to pursuing robust recruitment strategies, looks at the nursing shortage challenges from a different perspective — from the inside.
Linda Carroll, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services, designed the hospital's "train from scratch" program to build a patient care technician pool by inviting employees who already know the hospital and are interested in getting closer to the bedside.
Once trained, PCTs become extra eyes and hands that take on more administrative tasks and tend to basic clinical functions so nurses are freed up to do their jobs, Avril Keldo, DNP, director of professional practice at Saint Peter's, told Becker's.
The program was first conceived during the all-hands-on-deck challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic but really took on a life of its own by March 2022. Now, Saint Peter's holds monthly informational sessions and invites employees from various departments in the hospital — from transport to food and nutrition to environmental services — the ability to enter the program.
Full- and part-time training programs are limited to 10 participants to ensure each participant receives ongoing feedback and gains the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in their role, Dr. Keldo said.
After 80 hours of classroom and hands-on training, program graduates are able to take patients' vital signs and tend to patient hygiene, comfort and safety. In addition to being there to see and report any changes the nurse needs to know, they have more time to be able to interact with patients and their families to create better patient experiences,
To date, 176 people, who started without certifications or hands-on patient experience, have graduated and become PCTs. "The PCTs provide the ancillary help needed on a daily basis to help in the care of patients," Dr. Keldo said, noting floor nurses say they welcome the extra help. "With the PCTs on board, it allows the registered nurse to spend more time with the patients to provide the needed skilled care."
Full- and part-time training programs are limited to 10 participants to ensure each participant receives ongoing feedback and gains the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in their role, Dr. Keldo said.
In a win-win, the PCT program at Saint Peter's is also a direct route to the hospital's workforce pipeline, as many PCTs take advantage of the tuition reimbursement program to go to nursing school or to train to be a medical lab technician or medical assistant.