Evansville, Ind.-based Deaconess Midtown Hospital has developed a student nursing program in an effort to combat nursing shortages and recruit nurses to the hospital, according to NBC affiliate WFIE.
The program works with local colleges to give student nurses early experience. The effort has been crucial to recruiting new nurses at the hospital, said Cherona Hajewski, DNP, RN, Deaconess' chief nursing executive. The hospital recruited 40-50 graduate nurses in December 2018, Dr. Hajewski said.
To retain nurses after they come to the hospital, Dr. Hajewski said they try to be flexible with nurses' schedules and learn more about the nurses' interests.
The number of nurses is predicted to grow 15 percent from 2016 to 2026 as job demand increases, which is a much faster growth rate compared to other occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.