- To recruit more bedside nurses, Wooster Community Hospital has eliminated the Bachelor of Science in Nursing requirement for new nursing hires, according to the hospital.
- Removing the BSN option will allow more students to become practicing registered nurses while also opening the door for licensed practicing nurses, said Shelly Huff, chief nurse practitioner at WCH.
- Three years after COVID-19 began, the medical industry is still reeling from a shortage of bedside nurses that threatens patient care and safety, according to the Ohio Nurses Association.
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WOOSTER Three years after the onset of COVID-19, the medical sector is still reeling from a shortage of bedside nursing staff that threatens patient care and safety.
The Ohio Nurses Association, a nurse advocacy organization, rang the alarm bells on the issue at a press conference Tuesday.
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For Ashtabula County Medical Center nurse Kim Plant, multiple patients assigned to a nurse overwhelm the already stressed and exhausted nurses.
“The hospital I work at is a very rural hospital and we’ve always had staffing issues right up until COVID and we’ve always been able to deal with them,” Plant said at the news conference. “Now, we are fighting.”
Most hospitals across the state are experiencing these problems, said Shelly Huff, chief nurse at Wooster Community Hospital.
To recruit more bedside nurses, Wooster Community Hospital implemented a new change. They changed the hiring requirements in late April and early May, eliminating the Bachelor of Science in Nursing for new hires.
Low nurse/patient ratio
For Plant, the ratio of nurses to patients has declined, making it difficult to deliver quality care at the bedside. This includes being unable to talk to patients who have questions or give emotional support in times of stress.
On night shifts, she said there are often seven to eight patients for one nurse.
At James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, staff nurse Catharyne Henderson said there were about 80 full-time nurses in her unit before COVID emerged. Now I’m 35.
“We have double or triple the caseload,” Henderson said.
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There are no state regulations requiring the number of patients for a nurse, but ONA President Robert Weitzel said that as staffing issues worsen, the nurse-to-patient ratio will likely become more lopsided.
Weitzel said some academic papers recommend anywhere between four patients for a nurse and one patient for a nurse depending on the severity of the situation.
Without sufficient staff, more nurses are needed to stretch and limit their time with patients who may need them most, she explained.
To highlight this issue, ONA is launching the Code Red campaign, which urges hospitals, regulators and medical systems to improve working conditions while improving the attraction and retention of new hires, Weitzel said.
What is a BSN?
A possible solution to the staffing problem is proposed by Wooster Community Hospital.
By eliminating the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) intake requirement, WCH will increase the applicant pool, Huff said.
A BSN is a degree awarded by nursing students at the college level, she said. It usually takes three to four years and is a prerequisite for being a registered nurse in Ohio.
However, there are faster paths to becoming a nurse. At about age two, it is possible to become a registered nurse with a nursing degree.
While it’s a faster program, Huff pointed out that to legally practice medicine, registered nurses must pass a state exam.
Removing the BSN option will allow more students to become practicing registered nurses, while also opening the door for licensed practicing nurses, she said. The latter needs a certificate and to pass an examination to practice medicine
“Licensed practical nurses have the same practical knowledge as those with BSN,” she said. “With a BSN, they have a more complete education with common fundamentals.”
How removing the BSN requirement could help
In summary, Huff said the hire change will improve patient care by increasing the number of active nurses at the bedside throughout the hospital.
More nurses, she said, mean better patient care
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Wooster Community Hospital needed all hands on deck, said Tina Myers, vice president of human resources at WCH.
“We brought in (licensed practical nurses) and they did great,” she said. “We value all nurses and believe we need to go back to hiring all types of nurses.”
As licensed practical nurses filled needed staffing gaps during the pandemic while providing quality care, Myers said it made sense to focus only on LPNs.
The removal of the BSN requirement is not common in the medical sector, Huff said, but the hospital aims to partner with more local nursing programs to keep medical students in the county.
This includes providing scholarships and educational programs, he said.
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