HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WITH ALLEGHENY HEALTH NETWORK SAY THE COVID PANDEMIC TOOK A TOLL ON NURSES. CREATE A NATIONAL SHORTAGE, AND NOW THEY REVEAL THEIR RECRUITMENT STRATEGY FOR THEIR NURSING PROGRAM. DERMATITIS. STRIPPING THE SKIN. FUNGAL INFECTIONS. YOUR JOB IS TO TRY TO PREVENT THAT. THE BEST YOU CAN. THESE ARE FIRST YEAR NURSING STUDENTS. BUT THE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS FOR THIS CLASS ARE THEN AGED. SCHOOL OF NURSING DIRECTOR SAYS ENROLLMENT NUMBERS ARE HALF OF WHAT THEY WERE PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC. IN 2019. WE HAD APPROXIMATELY A TOTAL OF 145 STUDENTS ENROLLED JUST HERE AT WEST PENN. CURRENTLY, NOW WE’RE ONLY SEEING ABOUT HALF OF THAT. ANTHONY PERINO AND AMY O’NEILL ARE ABOUT TO LAUNCH THEIR PROFESSIONAL NURSING CAREERS WITH THE SCHOOL’S OF NURSING. THEY BOTH GRADUATE FROM THEIR TWO YEAR PROGRAM. IN A FEW WEEKS, WHAT COMPELLED ME WAS THAT I WANTED TO BE INVOLVED. I WANTED TO HELP INDIVIDUALS AND DO MY BEST TO MAKE PEOPLE A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE. I LOVE THE NURSES THAT I WORK WITH. THEY’RE VERY GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO. I’VE LEARNED A LOT FROM THEM. THEY’RE VERY HIGHLY SKILLED AND HIGHLY TECHNICAL. BUT PERINO ALSO SAYS A NURSING SHORTAGE DOES NOT MEAN THE WELFARE OF PATIENTS WILL BE COMPROMISED. I’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A NURSING SHORTAGE. THAT’S TO THE POINT WHERE IT’S DANGEROUS TO PATIENT. IT’S NEVER DANGEROUS. NURSING STUDENTS AT AGED SCHOOLS OF NURSING ARE BEING TRAINED SPECIFICALLY FOR WHAT THEY CALL FRONTLINE BEDSIDE NURSES. WE LEARNED A LOT FROM THE PANDEMIC AND HOW TO WORK WITH PATIENTS MORE CLOSELY, HOW TO COMMUNICATE, HOW TO KEEP THEM SAFE. THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE’RE ADDING INTO OUR PROGRAMS. WHILE ALSO FACING THE CHALLENGE OF BOOSTING ENROLLMENT NUMBERS
Nursing shortage spurs assertive recruiting by Allegheny Health Network
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Updated: 7:49 AM EDT Apr 27, 2023
Amy O'Neil and Anthony Piraino are members of the next graduating class at the Allegheny Health Network's Schools of Nursing.Program administrators wish there were more candidates like them as enrollment numbers are half of what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a nursing shortage across the country."I love the nurses I work with," Piraino said. "They're very good at what they do. I've learned a lot from them. They're highly skilled and highly technical."Both nursing students say they're ready for the heavy workloads that await them."What compelled me is that I wanted to be involved, I wanted to help individuals, and do my best to make people a little more comfortable," O'Neil said.AHN announced Tuesday that administrators are actively recruiting to boost the number to pre-pandemic enrollment.They normally bring in 145 students for the two-year program, but since the pandemic, they've averaged half of that number.Current students are being trained specifically for what is called front-line bedside nurses, says AHN Schools of Nursing Director Amy Stoker."We learned a lot from the pandemic, how to work with patients more closely, how to communicate, how to keep them safe, how to keep them safe. These are some of the things we're adding into our program," Stoker said.
PITTSBURGH — Amy O'Neil and Anthony Piraino are members of the next graduating class at the Allegheny Health Network's Schools of Nursing.
Program administrators wish there were more candidates like them as enrollment numbers are half of what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a nursing shortage across the country.
"I love the nurses I work with," Piraino said. "They're very good at what they do. I've learned a lot from them. They're highly skilled and highly technical."
Both nursing students say they're ready for the heavy workloads that await them.
"What compelled me is that I wanted to be involved, I wanted to help individuals, and do my best to make people a little more comfortable," O'Neil said.
AHN announced Tuesday that administrators are actively recruiting to boost the number to pre-pandemic enrollment.
They normally bring in 145 students for the two-year program, but since the pandemic, they've averaged half of that number.
Current students are being trained specifically for what is called front-line bedside nurses, says AHN Schools of Nursing Director Amy Stoker.
"We learned a lot from the pandemic, how to work with patients more closely, how to communicate, how to keep them safe, how to keep them safe. These are some of the things we're adding into our program," Stoker said.
