Partnering to Find Solutions to the Nursing Shortage

By 2012, the state of Maryland expects that its nursing shortage could reach 11,000 to 20,000 nurses. In an effort to combat the growing shortage, Maryland’s Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) provides institutional funding through state Nurse Support Program (NSP) grants. The goal? To increase the numbers of bedside nurses in Maryland hospitals by improving nurse retention and increasing the number of nurses educated in the state.

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) faculty are working to solve the nursing shortage through a variety of exciting NSP initiatives. Four faculty members are collaborating with hospitals that have received NSP I grants to fund nurse retention strategies:

Janice Hoffman, PhD, RN, Instructor
Funding: $950,000 over three years
Grant Recipient: Johns Hopkins Hospital
Purpose: Develop a preceptor program to enhance critical thinking at the bedside and improve nurse retention.

Susan Immelt, PhD, RN, assistant professor
Funding: $189,800 over five years
Grant Recipient: Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital
Purpose: Retaining experienced nurses who already serve in the hospital through enhanced orientation and preceptor programs.

Mary Terhaar, DNSC, RN, assistant professor
Funding: $1.9 million over five years.
Grant Recipient: Greater Baltimore Medical Center
Purpose: Provide tuition for four administrators/executives who will participate in the DNP program and for 10 nurse leaders who will earn their MSN at the school.

Jo Walrath, PhD, RN, assistant professor
Funding: $708,966 over three years
Grant Recipient: Johns Hopkins Hospital
Purpose: Conduct an interventional study of disruptive behavior in the work environment.

In addition, JHUSON has received a $970,000 grant for the development and implementation of a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Funding was awarded through the NSP II program, designed to increase the number of nurses and nurse educators by providing grant money directly to academic institutions.

A team of faculty members, headed by associate professor Kathleen White, PhD, RN, CNAA, BC, wrote the grant, which aims to increase the number of available nursing faculty in Maryland through the new DNP program. Other faculty team members include Mary Terhaar, DNSc, RN and Susan Immelt, PhD, RN.

Five collaborating partners—Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital, St. Agnes Hospital, and Mercy Medical Center—will support qualified staff in applying, attending, and completing the program. After receiving their DNP, graduates will continue to work at their collaborating institutions, acting as advanced clinical resource support or providing clinical and administrative leadership to the organizations and their staff. Program graduates will be qualified to serve as clinical and classroom faculty for JHUSON and other Maryland schools of nursing, and their collaborating organizations will therefore provide expanded clinical placement sites for nursing students.

“This innovative educational approach will increase the number of faculty available for clinical and classroom instruction, ultimately increasing the number of bedside nurses in Maryland.” says White. “Graduates of the new DNP program will be top-notch experts in their clinical fields, ready to share their knowledge with others to address the nation’s nursing shortage.”