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Spring 2002 Volume 5 Number 2 |
Home » MSC Today Magazine » Spring 2002 » Critical Care
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Critical Care
By Sheron Smith Photos by Maryann Bates Kimberly Frazier's first step toward fulfilling a childhood dream came last fall, when she enrolled in Macon State College's nursing program. "My parents always knew I'd end up in the medical field," said Frazier, 20. "Even when I was small I enjoyed helping people, whether it was propping up the feet of our neighbor, who had serious medical problems, or visiting the elderly at nursing homes through my junior mission group at church." Her long-term goals are to become a nurse anesthetist and get into medical administration, so Frazier knew from her first day at Macon State that she would continue her education beyond an associate's degree. She's been keeping her fingers crossed that Macon State would get to offer a bachelor's degree in nursing. "The nursing program has a great reputation," she said, "and this is where I want to get my four-year degree." Now, she can. In April, the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents approved a Bachelor of Science in Nursing for Macon State, the College's seventh baccalaureate program. Macon State's four-year program will be known as a "completion" degree because it is especially designed for registered nurses with associate's degrees who are already in the workforce. In approving the program, the Regents noted that completion degree programs "improve the analytical and critical-thinking skills of nurses that are essential in today's high-acuity hospital environment."
Macon State President David A. Bell said the bachelor's degree is an important development for the College. "There are two issues at play here," he said. "Central Georgia, like the rest of the nation, has an RN shortage, and this program will help us attract more students to nursing to help deal with that shortage. That fits in perfectly with our mission to develop baccalaureate programs that enhance this region. "The other issue is the need for more nurses with bachelor's degrees because of technological advances in health care. Macon State will continue to offer the associate's degree in nursing as an entry point into the field, but we're going to do everything we can to encourage our students to keep going toward their bachelor's degrees." According to a report the state's Health Care Workforce Technical Advisory Committee released last year, Georgia could be facing the worst shortage of non-physician health care professionals in its history. Titled Code Blue: Workforce in Crisis, the report warns that without innovative solutions, Georgia will see continued shrinkage in the number of nurses just as an aging population and medical technological advances explode demand for health care services. Besides a general shortage of nurses, the health care industry is concerned that there are too few RNs with credentials beyond the associate's degree.
Rapid changes in health care, including a shift to community care that means only the most seriously ill patients are hospitalized for significant lengths of time, are driving the need for more nurses with bachelor's degrees. In 1995, the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, addressed this issue: "Nursing clinical problem solving and differential diagnoses require a sound foundation in a broad range of basic sciences. Increasingly, difficult social and economic circumstances require knowledge of behavioral, social and management sciences. Good oral and written skills are required to communicate observations, analyze data from a variety of sources … and to assist patients in identifying and choosing from care options. A broad perspective and understanding of health and factors affecting health are needed by registered nurses to fill their roles in this reconstituted health care delivery system." The advisory council went on to say that research shows a baccalaureate education, with its broader, more scientific curriculum, best fulfills these requirements and provides the sound foundation for a variety of nursing positions. Macon State's Bachelor of Science in Nursing is welcome news to officials of area health care facilities. "The BSN nurse is more prepared to take on a leadership role and this is something our profession is critically short of," said Virginia Bartoldo, nursing director at Houston Medical Center. "The average age of today's nurse is about 45, so we need to start training tomorrow's nursing leaders now to take up the cause when these nurses begin to retire."
Beth Tripp, nurse recruitment, retention and education director for Coliseum Health System in Macon, said that while hospitals will continue to need associate's degree nurses, only in baccalaurate programs can students get into research and in-depth study of vital topics, such as the economy of health care. "We need nurses to assume roles in nursing research and apply that to current practice," she said. Close Knit Group An integral part of Macon State's academic offerings for more than three decades, the associate's degree nursing program has produced more than 2,200 graduates, many of whom continue to live and work as RNs in the region. Tracey Shepherd, for example, is a 1989 graduate who is now director of renal care services at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. To continue along a management career path, Shepherd feels she needs her bachelor's degree, and she's been working on it off and on through the Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Southwestern University.
Now that Macon State will offer the bachelor's degree, Shepherd said she'd like to finish at her alma mater. "In my position I get to advise nursing students during their clinicals, and I've been encouraging them not to stop with their associate's degree," Shepherd said. "It's best to keep going toward that BSN while they're used to going to school." Dr. Diane Craine, interim chair of MSC's nursing department, expects to see many Macon State nursing alumni return for their bachelor's degrees. "We hear that all the time from our graduates," she said. "They know it's important for career advancement to complete their bachelor's degrees and they've been waiting for Macon State to get the four-year program." Macon State nursing students are a well-mixed group of young women and men just out of high school and older adults seeking second careers or preparing to enter the workforce after rearing children. Often seen around campus clad in medical scrubs, they are among the most closely knit groups in the college community. One of the most active student organizations on campus is the Macon State College Association of Nursing Students (MSCANS), which spearheads a campuswide Salvation Army toy stocking drive for needy children each holiday season. Lenda Dillard is a 1975 Macon State nursing graduate who went on to get her bachelor's from the Medical College of Georgia and her master's from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Now an associate professor of nursing at Macon State, as well as a nurse practitioner who runs the campus health clinic, Dillard said nursing students and faculty tend to bond because they spend so much time together in class and clinicals.
"A lot of the students have families, work full-time and go to school, so there's a lot of camaraderie among them," Dillard said. "They feel like they're in this together and they support each other every step of the way." Louis Copeland, 42, is a second-year nursing student who decided to change careers after working at Robins Air Force Base for 18 years. Copeland said the program has been challenging but he's making it through thanks to the encouragement of the Macon State nursing faculty. "The faculty is just great," said Copeland, the married father of a 5-year-old daughter. "They want all their students to succeed and they are always willing to take the time to help you." Like Copeland, second-year nursing student Cathy McFarland was attracted to nursing for the opportunity to take care of people. McFarland, 23, who commutes to Macon State from Powder Springs, said her experiences during a clinical rotation at a public school solidified her desire to be a nurse. "Just to love on children and make them feel better when they are sick is the best feeling in the world," she said. "I'm definitely going to get my BSN because I know it would be best for my career."
Another advantage to nursing is greater job security and flexibility than many other fields. Unlike some professions that require licensure, RNs can move anywhere in the U.S. without retaking their board exams, thanks to reciprocal agreements among the 50 states. Job settings are ubiquitous, from hospitals to nursing homes to public schools to industrial plants. An RN can work in pediatrics one year and emergency services the next. Most employers of RNs also offer flexible work schedules. For example, a nurse could work three 12-hour shifts then have the next four days off. The earning power is good, too. In this state, RNs make an average of $36,960 annually, according to the Georgia Career Information System. Nurses with advanced degrees make more. "I enjoy working with patients, but I also wanted financial stability," said Renee Gay, 34, a second-year Macon State nursing student who formerly worked as a certified medical assistant. "Nursing offers an avenue to be financially self-reliant." New Health Sciences Complex The bachelor's degree is just one factor Macon State expects to help boost enrollment in the nursing program. Another is the construction, currently underway, of the $16.2 million Nursing, Health Sciences and Outreach Complex on the west end of campus. When completed by fall 2003, the complex will include state-of-the art teaching facilities for the nursing program, including a technologically advanced 10-bed "patient" unit where students will practice. All classrooms will be completely wired for information technology and distance learning, allowing, for example, nursing students to watch a surgical procedure as it takes place at a medical facility anywhere in the country.
"The B.S. degree and the new facility are going to allow us to develop a premier nursing program for this region," Bell said. In addition to degree programs, other Macon State initiatives designed to address the shortage of RNs include a bridge program for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who seek RN licensure and a re-entry program for former registered nurses who wish to resume practice. One of the students in the LPN bridge program is Michelle Smith, 30. Smith was working as a medical receptionist when she decided to pursue the nursing career she had always wanted. Needing to get back into the workforce quickly, she opted for an 18-month LPN program at a technical college. Now she's taking the next step by earning her nursing degree at Macon State while working part-time in the emergency room of Spalding Regional Hospital. "I enjoy the fast-paced environment of nursing," she said. "It's different every day. The best thing is when you've done a good job and you've been attentive to your patients and they tell you how much they appreciate it. That can make all the difference on those days when you're stressed out." The challenge for nursing degree programs everywhere is to identify and recruit more students and prepare them for what is admittedly a demanding profession, but one that is also among the most rewarding. "There aren't many jobs where you get to help a mother give birth and, in the same day, perhaps hold the hand of somebody who is dying," Craine said. "It's a privilege to work in a field where you get be with people at such intimate times."
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