Hospital Stresses Mission Over Money To Lure Nurses

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

By stressing its charitable mission rather than paying the best salaries, San Francisco General Hospital has managed to garner one of the better retention rates in the Bay Area, despite having one of the lowest pay scales.

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/health_care/hospitals/2002/08/19/sanfrancisco_newscolumn1.html

[sjoe]

Now there's a novel idea. When you can't fill your OR nursing slots, offer to TRAIN people willing to do so (and, presumably, willing to sign a contract to work for them after the training period for at least a year or so).

Why don't other hospitals seem to be able to think of things like this, but expect their hires to already be completely trained in whatever the facilities just happen to need--and then gripe about a "nursing shortage" when these people don't magically appear.

Just looking though some nurse want-ads today, the ONLY kinds of positions open that offer to train are those for dialysis. Many nurses would be willing to try other specialties, but have no way to gain the training unless hospitals would be willing to provide it.

This is not rocket science, administrators.