Pierce County is anticipating the impending nurse shortage with a unique solution: they grow their own.
MultiCare Health System just completed its fourth year of Nurse Camp, a hands-on training experience for budding nurses throughout the county. The four-day course for students in ninth through 12th grades includes nurse shadowing and classroom and operating room instruction, culminating in a graduation ceremony upon completion.
Students taking the course hope to walk away with a true understanding of a nurse’s world.
“Most students’ only view of what nurses do is what they see on TV,” said Penny Ruggles, who has been at Tacoma General Hospital since 1986. “The real thing is very different.”
“I have a friend that’s a nurse,” said Stephanie Carter, a student from Bonney Lake. “I’ve always liked helping people and medical stuff.”
A sparked interest by young people could prove valuable for an industry facing a staffing shortage.
“Only 9 percent of the RN workforce is under the age of 30,” said Todd Kelley, media relations manager for MultiCare and a Puyallup resident. “A field that should be growing is actually shrinking. We can’t keep up with the demand, so we’re growing our own. We’re planting the seeds now.”
“The average nurse today is between the ages of 38 and 50,” Ruggles said. “They’re getting tired and burned out. By the time we get older there won’t be anyone to take care of us.”
MultiCare wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“This camp debunks some of the myths out there,” Ruggles said. “Nursing used to be primarily a female role and the pay was not that great, but that has changed. Today’s nurses have to be very sharp. Patients are getting sicker and sicker.”
“This is intense stuff,” Kelley added. “This isn’t just fun and games. They work hard.”
Anyone watching the students preparing for mock surgery could hardly disagree. The students undergo an intense scrubbing session before entering the operating room.
“We’re going to violate one of the most vital barriers of the human body – intact skin,” said volunteer teacher Laurence Urvina, who walked the students through gowning up, proper placement of face masks, and the all-important hand washing.
“You must scrub for three minutes, all the way up to the elbows,” Urvina told the students.
“You have to keep your hands above the waistline, or else they’re not sterile.”
The students tested their skill at some real operating room procedures using high tech equipment. Gathered around a dummy, the students performed a mock laparoscopic surgery, playfully named a “Skittlectomy.” The operation, in this case, involved picking up Skittles with a grasper and placing them in a bucket while watching the procedure on a nearby computer screen using an endoscopic camera.
Kelley explained that in a real operation, this surgery minimizes the incision and speeds recovery.
“This gives the students a real feel for the instruments,” he said. “See, it’s difficult even with a hollow dummy. Imagine what it’s like with a real human.”
“This is all new and exciting to them,” said Larry Jones, who has been an operating room RN for 24 years. “Hopefully this will peak their interest in nursing or operating room procedures.”
Theresa Renico, clinical educator for surgical services, said that as an educator she could spot the makings of a future health care professional.
“After the class, one girl said she wanted to become a surgeon,” Renico said. “For students that are serious, this gives them a chance to meet and learn from those that are in the business. For those that are unsure, this gives them a better appreciation for the art of medical science.”
Renico’s portion of the camp taught students the different types of sutures, tissue structure and post-operation healing. One of the hands-on exercises tested students’ concentration, focus and manual dexterity with a suture tray practice kit, a device emulating sutures with string attached to a board.
“I feel like I’m making a cat’s cradle,” said student Myranda Morris.
During the lecture portion of the program, students were treated to some words of wisdom from State Senator Margarita Prentice.
A former nurse herself, Prentice told students, “I worked on the night shift in the ER, and believe me, I’ve seen it all.”
“It’s very exciting to be a nurse today,” she said. “You tap into skills you didn’t even know you had. It’s a very satisfying career when you finally recognize ‘I can do that!’”
Prentice touched upon the upcoming nurse shortage and future roadblocks in the system.
“Health care is going to be a critical issue in the future,” she said. “We were going to reform health care, but we still haven’t done it. When someone asks ‘Why is this done this way’ the worst answer is ‘This is the way we’ve always done it.’ There are too many forces involved that make a profit. We need new, clear-thinking people and active young minds.”
Prentice originally scoffed at the thought of running for office.
“I thought, ‘are you kidding? I hate Olympia. Who would want to go there?” she said. “But I’m always ready to argue for health care and not let other people mess it up.”
Ethlyn Gibson, manager of the community outreach program, said the shortage of health care is on everyone’s mind.
“All of the instructors here are volunteers,” she said. “It’s nice to see the community working together. They’re not getting paid, they do it because they want to.”
Whether the nurse camp will reap a fresh crop from this harvest or not is yet to be seen. But students like Chelsea Price of Bonney Lake definitely give the school a ray of hope.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “We shadowed nurses to see what it’s actually like.
It was a ton a fun because the patients just love it when people come to visit. It’s amazing how much nurses are needed, you don’t even know. They do so much for the patients. I’m a lot more interested in the medical field now. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was worth every minute of it."
Carter said, “I knew I wanted to be a nurse, but it didn’t really click about what a rewarding job it is, having the patients tell you how much they really need you. I really want to be a nurse now.”
Senator Prentice best touched upon the root benefits of being a nurse in her speech.
“I’m a legislator now, but I never quit being a nurse,” she said. “That’s always going to be a part of you.
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