Betty Craig
Staff shortages have become commonplace around the world in the past year, and health care has been no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the workforce, particularly employees serving on the front line, such as physicians, nurses, and other clinical staff. In this Q&A, Betty Craig, DNP, chief nursing officer at Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH), discussed the global staffing shortages in nursing and what is being done at PAH to support Penn’s current and future generations of nurses.
What has impacted nursing shortages in health care?
At the height of the pandemic, nurses had to adapt to tremendous changes in patient care, experiencing a new level of intensity that never seemed to change — and still hasn’t returned to normal. The emotional toll of experiencing patient mortality from COVID-19, on top of isolation from others and the fear of transmitting the virus to loved ones, led to many nurses changing their perspective of what they want to do in their careers.
What is being done for recruitment at PAH?
We have brought in about 100 nurses, all levels of experience, in the past six months at PAH. We have been conducting virtual chats to provide more information on career opportunities at Penn Medicine for interested applicants. For incoming nurses, our education team has focused on ensuring a thorough orientation to help them feel comfortable as they enter a new work environment, which includes assigning them designated preceptor(s) to serve as a guide during their onboarding process. Our Nurse Residency Coordinator has worked with colleagues across the health system to adapt our program to meet the needs of new-to-practice nurses that had limited clinical experience due to the pandemic. Some of PAH’s units have even created a video that is sent to new employees after they accept a position to give them a warm welcome before their arrival and have created programs so new staff members have built in peer-support and mentorship.
What efforts have been made to support current PAH nurses?
We’re looking at workforce needs in terms of emotional and social well-being. In addition to promoting Penn COBALT, which provides mental health resources for anyone at Penn Medicine, PAH has been offering unit-based sessions and individual counseling so staff can focus on well-being.
We have also strengthened our shared governance structure to allow our staff to provide feedback and be part of the change for improvements in workplace culture and safety. Prior to the pandemic, meetings were held in-person. By moving this structure to a virtual platform, we saw over a 50 percent increase in participation and engagement. In addition, the Department of Nursing conducted more than 100 listening sessions with nursing and nursing support services, meeting in groups to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement on their units.
What opportunities do nurses have to advance in their careers?
PAH’s mentorship program connects nurses to mentors at the hospital to help them achieve their professional goals. Our program has had over an 85 percent success rate in their mentees reaching their goals. For example, I serve as a mentor to two individuals who want to achieve leadership positions. Using tools from our mentorship program, I will help them navigate how to reach these goals and provide advice and resources along the way.
Penn’s benefits program also assists with financial support for continued education. In terms of academics, we had 19 nurses at PAH advance to a Master’s degree as a nurse practitioner this year, in addition to three nurses pursuing education in nursing informatics – a growing field in health care. They’ve helped us identify opportunities in medical records and electronic clinical work. PAH additionally enhanced its gateway programs – offered in Medical-Surgical, Critical Care, and Perioperative Nursing, among other departments – so nurses have the opportunity to build their skillset in different environments at the hospital.