Tufts Medical Center in Boston has launched a program aimed at recent college graduates to boost its staff of approximately 250 nursing aides, called clinical care technicians, according to a Boston Globe report.
Here are five things to know about the program.
1. The program began almost two years ago.
2. As of March 31, 119 people had completed Tufts' six-week training program, according to the report. College graduates complete the program with a salary of $15.50 to $17.50 an hour, plus benefits. They then are asked to commit to working at the hospital for 18 months, according to the report.
3. The program gives college graduates exposure to the healthcare field and helps the hospital fill a chronic shortage of nursing assistants, Terry Hudson-Jinks, MSN, RN, CNO at Tufts, told the Boston Globe.
4. And it appears to be proving beneficial. According to the report, turnover rates for nursing assistants have plummeted since the program began. The Boston Globe states that 94 percent of trainees stay for 18 months whereas previously, half of the hospital's aides left within 12 months. The vacancy rate has gone down to 5 percent.
5. Still, some question the program. For instance, Judith Shindul-Rothschild, a professor at Boston College School of Nursing who studies nurse staffing, told the Boston Globe there is a concern that hospital administrators could see the program as a way to bolster their staffs with low-cost nurses' aides rather than hiring more registered nurses. Additionally, the education requirement — only college graduates — could also shut out qualified candidates, according to the report.