Recruiting for the Future

P-RN

A frequent topic of nursing discussions and articles has been that of nurses eating their young. This refers to the instances when older, more experienced nurses withhold the support newer nurses need when starting out in their careers. Rather than using their expertise to guide and aid new, inexperienced nurses, many older nurses seem to have the attitude that as they once had to struggle and learn to cope with the challenges of nursing without anyone's assistance, so should the new nurses have to go it alone.

It has been a chronic problem that has driven new nurses to leave nursing areas they had aspired to work in, and oftentimes caused new nurses to leave the nursing field entirely. No one knows how many talented people have been driven from the field of nursing, but it seems to be a widespread problem if all the articles and discussion in nursing forums is representative of most nursing environments.

For the nursing profession, with nationwide shortages, it is most unfortunate, and for new nurses who have spent years in school only to get discouraged and leave nursing early on, it is tragic. Nursing is losing many extremely talented people each year who might otherwise have had long, productive nursing careers.

Another important area nurses sometimes neglect is that of nursing recruitment. I refer not to hiring nurses, but of encouraging people to go into the nursing profession. All too often we complain of our difficult and stressful work, long hours and the many challenges we face, but neglect to talk about the rewarding aspects of our work, the reasons we entered the nursing profession and stay in it.

It is human nature to complain, and it often helps to recover from a stressful shift by venting, but we are sometimes woefully unaware of the harm we do by discouraging interested people from considering nursing as a possible career choice. A person who might have grown up aspiring to become a nurse could all too easily reconsider if the nurses they encounter always grumble about the stress, patient workloads and long hours, never mentioning the satisfaction derived from caring for the sick, helping bring babies into the world, or assisting the terminally ill to make their transition in comfort and support. We sometimes forget in the daily struggle just how much good nurses accomplish. There are many good reasons why nurses are one of the most trusted professions in survey after survey.

Whenever an interested person asks about my work, and this happens most often when I am on the job, I talk about the many rewarding aspects of nursing, and I like to stress that one of the great things about nursing is the tremendous diversity in nursing roles. There are so many areas of expertise in nursing and if a new graduate is unhappy in one area, they have so many choices available to try until they find a perfect fit. A nurse has so many options: caring for the elderly, for babies and children, working in the OR, ER, home care, teaching and and so on. There is something to satisfy the interest and aspirations of most anyone.

A year ago I met Maria at the dog park where most afternoons we take our dogs to play. Maria's daughter was in nursing school and I came to know Lisa through her mother who frequently mentioned that Lisa was doing well in school and would graduate soon. Lisa graduated with honors from a local university and looked for a job as a graduate nurse, but was not successful in finding a position that was a good fit for her.

Lisa was primarily interested in pediatrics but most places weren't hiring or were only hiring experienced pediatric nurses. Lisa and I spent afternoons at the park talking about our careers as we watched our dogs play. Lisa seemed to be the kind of person the hospital where I am emloyed looks for; she is kind, thoughtful, empathetic and humbly intelligent.

I started making phone calls to help her get her foot in the door, and our park conversations became "mock interviews". She was able to answer the "tough questions", and was very soon ready for her interview. Lisa interviewed and was hired and is in the midst of her orientation process. We continue to talk at the dog park or the hospital cafeteria if she has a question or just needs to talk. I'm excited to watch as she grows to be a valued member of the pediatric nursing team.

Sue and I would meet Friday nights to watch our husbands play softball. The topic of conversation in the bleachers often focused on Sue's dissatisfaction with her career. She had a good job with a pension and excellent benefits, but wasn't getting the job satisfaction she needed to be truly happy. Sue would often refer to the time when she worked as a medical assistant in a physician's office. She seemed to remember every patient and still kept in touch with the staff even though it had been several years since she had worked in the office. She had even kept her medical assistant licensure active after all these years.

I suggested she apply at the hospital unit where I worked as we were looking for a Patient Care Assistant. It would mean a huge pay cut, but the hospital would pay her tuition to go back to nursing school which seemed to be her calling. After a bit of soul searching Sue decided to take the plunge. She was hired as a PCA, went to school and graduated. Sue has been working as an RN for five years now and has never regretted the change of careers. She still sends me cards on occasion to thank me for encouraging her to make the career change.

On numerous occasions I have had someone approach me to say that they had met me a number of years earlier when they were either a patient or visiting a patient and had chosen a nursing career based on questions they had asked me about my career and how I liked it. I don't always remember the person or the earlier encounter as usually a few years have passed, but it has been extremely gratifying to learn that I have had a positive impact on someone's life and on the nursing profession in general.

Nursing is a profession with so many different fields that there is an area to satisfy nearly everyone. One person may not enjoy working in one specific area, such as pediatrics for example, while another person may find that to be their favorite area. Another person may prefer intensive care or even a management position. There truly is such a wide range of areas in which to work, and it is difficult to predict where a person might excel and be most gratified.

We have the ability and responsibility to encourage people to enter the nursing profession which will effect not only their future, but those of the people they will care for in their nursing careers. Those same people we have recruited to become nurses may go on to encourage others to enter the profession thus promoting future generations of nurses. We need to always be looking for that passion in people we meet because one never knows who might have all the great qualities we look for in a nurse. It is an awesome responsibility, but also a wonderful opportunity to help ensure the future of nursing.

Recruiting for the Future

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