 "R.N.-On -Loan" Program Eases Faculty
Shortage
At a time when hospital R.N. positions are hard to fill, it
may seem a bit strange that Union Hospital in Elkton would encourage a veteran
ICU nurse to leave the premises and work elsewhere. But hospital officials say
that by having an R.N. spend part of her week as a clinical instructor for
local college students, they are helping to secure the future of health care in
Cecil County.
Cecil Community College, like other nursing schools across
the state, consistently turns away qualified applicants from its R.N. program
because it doesn't have enough clinical faculty to accommodate them. In order
to help ease the shortage, officials at Union last fall entered into a
"nurse-faculty partnership" with the college, agreeing to provide a nurse from
its own staff as a part-time adjunct professor.
What thrills Robyn Otwell, R.N., about her new position is
the fact that she can experience teaching 24 hours a week during a semester and
still spend the remaining 12 hours of the week at her regular post in the ICU,
the place where she has spent the past 17 years.
"Some semesters I spend more of my time at the hospital,
other times at the college-it depends on how much Cecil [Community College]
needs me," said Otwell, who plans to continue her unique dual role in the
2004-2005 school year. "The neat thing is, I'm still considered full-time at
the hospital so I don't lose my seniority or my benefits," she said.
A hospital e-mail describing the position piqued Otwell's
interest last summer, and - although she never had a lifelong yearning to be a
professor - the opportunity to add a new dimension to her nursing experience
sounded too good to pass up.
"The position was presented as a 'Trial Position: If you
like it, great, stay - If not, you can always go back to full-time nurse.' I
was one of the few people who had the required B.S.N. degree and I just decided
to give it a try, but it's absolutely wonderful....I enjoy it a lot." she said.
Last year, Otwell taught the college's Level I clinical
classes at a local long-term care facility. She also taught Level IV clinical
classes in the Progressive Care Unit at Union Hospital. With an additional
part-time instructor, Cecil Community College was able to expand its R.N. class
by eight students.
Not only will Cecil County gain eight additional nurses, but
officials say Union Hospital will reap long-term rewards from the partnership.
"It costs the hospital $25,000 a year per nurse who
participates in this program, but for each of those nurses, we're gaining eight
new nurses coming out of Cecil Community," said Tom Sweeney, the hospital's
vice president and chief clinical operations officer.
"If the college is able to expand, then so will our internal
career development program. A lot of the nursing students who get the chance to
work in our hospital will end up working with us after graduation," he said.
With the demand for nursing faculty so high, a partnership
also prevents an exodus of nurses from hospital settings to academic
institutions, said Sweeney. "This lets us keep members of our staff, but also
lets them experience teaching," he said, adding that during the summer and over
the holidays, nurse partners go back to being full-time hospital nurses.
Since the 2003-2004 program was hailed as a success with a
single nurse, the partnership will probably be expanded this fall to include
additional nurse-instructors.
"The second nursing partner position will most likely be a
shared responsibility between two nurses," Sweeney said, adding that several
staff members are interested, but nothing is official at the moment. This would
enable the college to enroll another eight additional students into a program
of L.P.N.'s studying to receive their R.N. licensures.
"Overall the partnership is a nice bridge between our
institution and the college," said Sweeney. "It helps our staff build stronger
relationships with the college and its students," he said.
Contact:
Robyn Otwell, B.S.N., R.N.
Intensive
Care Unit
Union Hospital
Phone: (410) 920-2764
E-mail: otw@dmv.com
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