College uses Web to
draw students into nursing:
Demand for profession outweighs supply, local hospital officials say
Longview News
Journal
Tuesday, March 17, 2008
Panola College nursing student Lakeisha Owens stood over the counter at Longview Regional Medical Center as she filled a needle with insulin.
"You have to make sure the bubbles are not in it," she said as she thumped the syringe. Nursing instructor Karen McClellan and two other students, Tommy Vaughn and Jessica Oden, watched Owens as she worked this past week.
"(The bubbles) have to get to the top," Owens said.
The three students are part of a group of 15 working toward associate degrees to become registered nurses through an online program at Panola College. They're the second class to enroll in the program.
Carthage resident Michelle Bishop was among the first class of six students who graduated in December.
Now, she awakes at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for 12-hour shifts at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital as a registered nurse.
"I really take advantage of those two to three days off," she said jokingly of her hour long drive and busy schedule. She sometimes assists in the delivery of up to five babies in one day. "But I really enjoy what I do."
Panola College is one of two junior colleges in the state to offer the nursing degree online at a time when the demand for nurses is growing.
Filling a void
Clair Jordan, executive director of the Texas Nurses Association, said it is crucial for the state to find nurses to hire as Texas' population continues to grow and age and as baby boomers begin to retire from the profession.
"We have 10 years before many of our nurses between the ages 59 and 61 retire," she said. "There is not enough people behind them to replace them."
Jordan said the average age of Texas nurses is 47, while 10 percent of Texas nurses are younger than 30.
Texas ranks in the bottom five states nationally in the number of registered nurses per patient, at one nurse for every 700 people in Texas, Jordan said.
"There is indeed a demand for more registered nurses, and we expect the demand to continue through 2020," she said. "We're seeing many larger cities building and expanding hospitals, and the same growth is occurring in our rural areas."
Rita Gould, chief nursing officer at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, said many hospitals are actively seeking skilled nurses. However, she said the nursing supply is not dwindling. More students are entering the nursing field, but she said demand has skyrocketed.
"There lies our challenge," she said. "We're scrambling to catch up as the demand is escalating."
Good Shepherd and Longview Regional Medical Center are working with Panola College and other local colleges to provide facilities for nursing students to complete lab classes in which the students interact with hospital patients and medical professionals. They also offer other incentives, such as tuition reimbursement, to attract nurses.
Gould said Good Shepherd uses 273 nurses of all types in various shifts over 24 hours. However, officials at both hospitals said the demand for nurses per shift can change depending on the type of emergency.
Stephanie Foster, chief nursing officer at Longview Regional Medical Center, said there are 11 openings for all types of nurses at Longview Regional. Gould said Good Shepherd has a 10 percent vacancy in registered nurses. Foster and Gould said they hope clinical students will consider working at their hospitals.
"We're very pleased to have experienced a lot of growth," Gould said of additions at the hospital. "My goal is to have a waiting list of nurses."
Foster said some nurses are reluctant to work long hours and late nights, which drives them away from the profession. She said she is glad colleges are required to incorporate clinicals into their course study.
"It gives them a feel for what they will expect," she said. "Clinicals allow them to know how to deal with people rather than just read a book to figure it out."
Panola College's program
Barbara Cordell, dean of nursing and health at Panola College, said many students enrolled in Panola's online nursing program are nontraditional students. Some students have children, are married and also maintain a full-time job.
The students' motivations and goals vary.
Vaughn, one of the students at Regional this past week, said money was a major factor in his decision to change professions. He worked as a mechanic for 15 years while his wife attended nursing school. When she finished, he decided to pursue the same career.
"Once we get the children raised, we talked about being travel nurses," he said. "It'll give us a chance to see the world and make a lot of money while doing it."
Owens is pursuing the degree to help achieve her goal of opening an adult day care. Oden said she wants to become a nurse to help other people.
Cordell said the college wanted to make the program accessible to students. She said some students do not have the time to take on a full course load in a traditional nursing class that can at times be curriculum intensive.
"The flexibility of the degree is what is drawing students to the program," Cordell said. "Many students like the idea of being able to work and take classes online."
Cordell said the program incorporates podcasting and online chatting between the students. Cordell said instructors even extend their office hours to 10 p.m. to accommodate students with jobs and families.
"That really helps," she said. "And I think the instructors like the idea of assisting students in their jammies, too."
Cordell said online students work 256 hours over a span of 16 weeks while in clinicals, and at times students can devote more than 10 hours a week completing class work online.
Ann Morris, Panola College dean of distance education, said the course has a positive growth outlook, but warns online learning is not for everyone.
"Success in this class is dependent upon being self-disciplined, a good reader with good reading comprehension and having good computer skills," she said.
"If you've gone through the online program ... then you're ready."
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Nursing facts
In 2007 in Texas, there were 169,207 female nurses and 18,166 male nurses.
The national average starting salary for nurses is between $37,000 and $48,000 a year.
More than 55,000 nurses in Texas are between the ages of 45 and 54.
Local hospital expansions and an aging population are driving the need for more nurses.
Sources: Board of Nursing and Longview Regional and Good Shepherd chief nurses
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Area nursing programs
Panola College: Associate degree in nursing, online and traditional
Kilgore College: Associate degree in nursing
University of Texas at Tyler: Bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate in nursing; doctoral program is exclusively online
Stephen F. Austin State University: Bachelor's degree
Northeast Texas Community College: Associate degree in nursing
Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
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GOOD SHEPHERD
Nurse turnover rate: 9.4 percent
Average nursing tenure: 8 years
Longest serving nurse: 35 years
LONGVIEW REGIONAL
Nurse turnover rate: 8 percent
Average nursing tenure: 16 years
Longest serving nurse: 28 years
TEXAS
Nurse turnover rate: 18 percent
Sources: Texas Nursing Association and chief nurses at Longview Regional and Good Shepherd
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Panola College nursing tuition
$1,200 per semester for online and traditional programs
Tuition includes books, course fees, nursing uniform and equipment
Traditional nursing course completion: 2 years
Online nursing course completion: 19 months
Before being admitted to the online program:
Must have 36 hours of prerequisites completed
Have a 3.0 grade-point average in all science courses
Must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average overall
Complete an essay outlining strategic success plan in the program
Source: Panola College
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Panola's first online graduates
Started in 2006.
Six out of 10 graduated in December.
All six passed the National Council Licensure Examination.
All graduates are employed at hospitals across East Texas.
15 students are enrolled in the second class of the online program.
Source: Panola College
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'07 licensed registered nurses, degrees of all types
Gregg: 1,333
Harrison: 394
Panola: 170
Rusk: 316
Upshur: 295
Source: Texas Board of Nursing
Jamaal E. O'Neal
*****
2007 working, licensed Texas RNs*
County, Full time, Part time, Unemployed, Total
Gregg, 962, 152, 185, 1,299
Harrison, 303, 41, 45, 389
Panola, 115, 20, 31, 166
Rusk, 222, 42, 43, 307
Upshur, 225, 29, 33, 287
Source: Texas Board of Nursing
* Does not include registered nurses working in other fields
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