GAMECOCK
The CONnection News and Views from the University of South Carolina COLLEGE OF NURSING
JULY 2015
Findings from our Hospital Workforce Study: Support for Additional BSN and Higher Prepared Nurses
The Office of Healthcare Workforce Research in the College of Nursing, along with our partner, Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis and Planning in the South Carolina AHEC program office, recently completed a study of the nursing workforce in our 60 South Carolina hospitals. Here are some highlights: Access the full report Here.
Dean Jeannette Andrews
Inside This Issue Students Corner..............2-3 Alumni & Development...4-5 Faculty & Staff Notes.....6-7 NO LIMITS........................6
Send Inquiries or Newsletter items to: Jan Johnson jnjohnso@mailbox.sc.edu
• Hospitals are hiring new RN graduates, with 23% expecting that new graduate hiring this year will be even greater than last year. • Nursing roles are expanding in hospitals, with more than half indicating they created new roles for patient care coordinators and patient navigators in the past year. • Hospitals are expecting to increase employment levels for different types of nurses: o 50% expect to add jobs for Nurse Practitioners o 40% expect to add new staff RN positions • The most difficult positions to fill are those of experienced nurses (of any kind), as well as emergency department nurses (28%), critical care nurses (25%), nurse managers (25%), operating room nurses (23%), among others. • Across the state in our hospitals, the average percentage of BSN prepared nurses was 36%, with larger hospitals averaging 49% BSN prepared nurses. • Fifty-five percent of the larger hospitals indicated their goal was to increase their proportion of BSN nurses to at least 80% over the next few years. The majority of hospitals in the Upstate (70%) and Low Country (46%) indicate that they are requiring new hires to complete a BSN within a specified period of time. • 90% of hospitals in South Carolina are offering some type of support to RNs who are extending their education either to a BSN or Master’s degree. These findings confirm the positive directions we are taking in the College of Nursing. We have re-launched our RN-BSN program, added additional tracks to our Master’s and DNP programs to include organizational leadership, nurse executive, and psychiatric/ mental health nurse practitioner. We are increasingly integrating the concepts and practices of care coordination, patient navigation, population health, informatics, and other emerging themes into our curriculums to meet the ever changing workforce. To read more about our academic programs, visit our website HERE. The USC College of Nursing will continue to lead, innovate, and partner to improve the health for all of our citizens in South Carolina. Together, with our partners, we are making a difference in South Carolina and beyond. Jeannette O. Andrews PhD, RN, FAAN Dean & Professor j.andrews@sc.edu
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