In just three short years, the supply of nurses in Utah County, and elsewhere across the nation, has gone from a severe shortage to an overwhelming abundance.
Mary Ann Young, assistant administrator at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, said that although the changes have been minor locally, she can pinpoint the reasons for the drastic change."One of the major things happening in the county is the decline in inpatient volumes due to the managed-care markets," Young said. "The American public is saying they're tired of paying. And consumers are driving the lowering of health-care costs."
New technology and the increase in outpatient procedures have caused a significant decline in inpatient care, and with it a decrease in nursing staffs. Countywide, inpatient days have decreased 11.4 percent decrease from 1990 to 1995.
While fewer nurses are needed in long-term facilities, there is a growing need for licensed practical nurses and registered nurses to work with other medical services such as birthing centers and the highly competitive home-health organizations.
"There are also more nurses graduating than ever before," Young said, At one time local hospitals hired nursing students from as far away as Ricks College. But about the time the county started suffering from a nursing shortage, Utah Valley State College started its first class for registered nurses.
Now, according to Karen Swendsen, director of nursing programs at UVSC, nursing hopefuls are admitted twice a year into the school: 40 in August and 40 in January.
More students are being attracted to nursing school because of the benefits and job growth that emerged out of the shortage.
"During the shortage we went through the low salary and wages and benefits. IHC upgraded the salaries . . . during that time there was a significant improvement in salary, benefits, working environment and even treatment by physicians," Young said.
Young said one result of those changes is a decline in nursing turnover. In 1990 there was a 35 percent turnover in nurses; in 1994 there was a 5 percent turnover in Utah County.
"Wages, benefits and a stable economy with fewer husbands leaving the area contributed to the drop in turnover," Young said.
Now, some RN graduates have difficulty finding work in the area. Because of the competitive environment, some nurses are forced to look for work outside of the area.
While UVSC has a waiting list for the RN programs, the most difficult nursing positions to fill are for LPNs.
At local IHC hospitals, most nurses and on-call nurses are being cross-trained to help in multiple areas of the hospital. However, nurses involved with critical care such as in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit are kept in those units, enhancing their training there.