New nurses may lack hands-on skills; No training program can guarantee students encounter every situation, college official says; ANNE KELLY RECORD STAFF
Kitchener Waterloo Record 03-08-2008
New nurses may lack hands-on skills; No training program can guarantee students encounter every situation, college official says
Byline: ANNE KELLY RECORD STAFF
Edition: Final
Section: FRONT
As a newly graduated RN three years ago, Crystal McCallum took a part-time job providing in-home nursing care to a medically unstable newborn.
The baby was premature and not expected to live. It had birth defects and a feeding tube running from its nose to its stomach. The tube would frequently become blocked or dislodged.
An overwhelmed McCallum found herself in tears after many shifts. The company she was working for had not provided her with any training.
"They just threw me right in. That's where more intense experience in school would have been a benefit."
McCallum, who provides in-home nursing to clients in Listowel, Brussels and the surrounding area, now works full-time for Care Partners, which she said provides excellent orientation and training.
McCallum is a member of The Nursing Shortage and You, a new advocacy group of nurses in Waterloo Region and surrounding counties.
Their concerns include the clinical preparedness of today's university trained nurses. Some say skills of new graduates were better under the former diploma programs.
She said the theoretical training at the University of Windsor was outstanding, but more "hands-on" experience would have been beneficial.
"I have a problem with what's in the curriculum," said advocacy group member Ferne Schwartzentruber, a retired nurse who has worked in home care, long-term care and hospitals. "Just get back to the basics."
Beatrice Mudge, chief nursing executive at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, said today's new nurses are educationally well-prepared, especially in assessing patients.
But Lois Gaspar, chair of nursing programs at Conestoga College, which runs a degree program for nurses, says that the hours of clinical training are about the same as in the former diploma program, though they are distributed differently.
Gaspar said no training program can guarantee all students will encounter patients needing every kind of skill.
"That's not much different than when I was a nursing student," she said.
With patients sicker and workloads heavier today, new nurses need a chance to become workload ready, said Doris Grinspun, executive director of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
A number of new graduates have left nursing in the past five years, added Vicki McKenna, first vice-president of the Ontario Nurses Associ-ation.
"They left because they don't have the skills. They didn't have the support they needed in their workplace to continue working."
McCallum said it took about a year for her to feel confident in her work, but she loves her job providing community care and is willing to work for a few dollars an hour less than her hospital counterparts for a flexible schedule and close relationships with clients.
But if the wage gap of nearly $3 to $5 an hour between community and long-term care nurses and hospital nurses isn't closed, nurses will migrate to hospitals, she predicted.
The home care clients and nursing home residents of today require complex care that would have kept them in hospital just a few years ago.
Some new nurses have told McKenna that with student loans of $40,000 they must go where the compensation they receive is best.
David Murray, executive director of the Waterloo-Wellington Community Care Access Centre, said there are significant nurse shortages in community care.
But he expects competition from other sectors will force wages "to some equilibrium."
Health Minister George Smitherman said that the gap is closing annually and extra measures are not planned.
In the meantime, Ferne Schwartzentruber, a retired registered nurse who has worked in all sectors, said some smaller rural nursing homes can't always fulfil their obligation to have an RN on site overnight because of short-staffing. That poses a risk to residents safety, she said.
akelly@therecord.com
Copyright (c) 2008 Metroland Media Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Kitchener Waterloo Record 03-08-2008
New nurses may lack hands-on skills; No training program can guarantee students encounter every situation, college official says
Byline: ANNE KELLY RECORD STAFF
Edition: Final
Section: FRONT
As a newly graduated RN three years ago, Crystal McCallum took a part-time job providing in-home nursing care to a medically unstable newborn.
The baby was premature and not expected to live. It had birth defects and a feeding tube running from its nose to its stomach. The tube would frequently become blocked or dislodged.
An overwhelmed McCallum found herself in tears after many shifts. The company she was working for had not provided her with any training.
"They just threw me right in. That's where more intense experience in school would have been a benefit."
McCallum, who provides in-home nursing to clients in Listowel, Brussels and the surrounding area, now works full-time for Care Partners, which she said provides excellent orientation and training.
McCallum is a member of The Nursing Shortage and You, a new advocacy group of nurses in Waterloo Region and surrounding counties.
Their concerns include the clinical preparedness of today's university trained nurses. Some say skills of new graduates were better under the former diploma programs.
She said the theoretical training at the University of Windsor was outstanding, but more "hands-on" experience would have been beneficial.
"I have a problem with what's in the curriculum," said advocacy group member Ferne Schwartzentruber, a retired nurse who has worked in home care, long-term care and hospitals. "Just get back to the basics."
Beatrice Mudge, chief nursing executive at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, said today's new nurses are educationally well-prepared, especially in assessing patients.
But Lois Gaspar, chair of nursing programs at Conestoga College, which runs a degree program for nurses, says that the hours of clinical training are about the same as in the former diploma program, though they are distributed differently.
Gaspar said no training program can guarantee all students will encounter patients needing every kind of skill.
"That's not much different than when I was a nursing student," she said.
With patients sicker and workloads heavier today, new nurses need a chance to become workload ready, said Doris Grinspun, executive director of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
A number of new graduates have left nursing in the past five years, added Vicki McKenna, first vice-president of the Ontario Nurses Associ-ation.
"They left because they don't have the skills. They didn't have the support they needed in their workplace to continue working."
McCallum said it took about a year for her to feel confident in her work, but she loves her job providing community care and is willing to work for a few dollars an hour less than her hospital counterparts for a flexible schedule and close relationships with clients.
But if the wage gap of nearly $3 to $5 an hour between community and long-term care nurses and hospital nurses isn't closed, nurses will migrate to hospitals, she predicted.
The home care clients and nursing home residents of today require complex care that would have kept them in hospital just a few years ago.
Some new nurses have told McKenna that with student loans of $40,000 they must go where the compensation they receive is best.
David Murray, executive director of the Waterloo-Wellington Community Care Access Centre, said there are significant nurse shortages in community care.
But he expects competition from other sectors will force wages "to some equilibrium."
Health Minister George Smitherman said that the gap is closing annually and extra measures are not planned.
In the meantime, Ferne Schwartzentruber, a retired registered nurse who has worked in all sectors, said some smaller rural nursing homes can't always fulfil their obligation to have an RN on site overnight because of short-staffing. That poses a risk to residents safety, she said.
akelly@therecord.com
Copyright (c) 2008 Metroland Media Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment