PSU helps battle nursing shortage

By Erin Wilson
New online courses and increased clinical enrollment are just two of the ways that PSU’s Nursing Department is meeting a growing need for quality nurses. Mary Carol Pomatto, chairperson of the department, said that the department is addressing the needs of its diverse student body.

According to Pomatto, nursing shortages are due to an increased demand in health care and not a decrease in nursing program applicants. Among the reasons for this demand, Pomatto cites an aging baby boom generation and changes in available health care that have created niches for nurses where none previously existed. She also said that the skills developed in the nursing program are skills that are in high demand in other areas of the workforce.

“Nursing students make attractive hires in other fields,” Pomatto said.

Pomatto said nursing students are highly motivated and excel at leadership, organization, and communication among other qualities. The department takes pride in its 100 percent job placement for nursing graduates.

In the fall 2005 semester, the Nursing Department increased its upper-level clinical admittees by 10 percent. The department now admits 66 students each year into its upper-level clinical program. Pomatto said that PSU’s program tends to be competitive and that the recent increase in admittees to the clinical program has helped. Federal and state guidelines regulate the ratio of instructors to students in the Nursing Department, Pomatto said, making the recent increase an “enormous accomplishment.”

Pomatto estimated that a new online program will be available in the fall 2006 semester that will also help produce more bachelor’s degree nurses. This program will allow students who are RNs with an associate’s degree to complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a BSN. Other programs similar to this exist in other parts of the country, but many students still prefer an online program that is based locally, according to Pomatto.

In addition to these recent changes, Pomatto said, the department is continuously looking toward the future. Preliminary work is being done to identify the long-term needs of the department. Eventually, a fundraising drive will provide for new technology in the department and additional scholarships for students.

In the meantime, PSU’s nursing students are familiar faces in the local community. Pomatto said that a necessary complement to classroom learning is clinical work, and students enjoy being involved in the southeast Kansas community in a variety of ways. Recently, nursing students held a health fair at Cornerstone Assisted Living and screened an estimated 250-300 individuals as a part of their gerontology course. PSU’s nursing students hold an Annual Heart Walk and provide blood drives and immunizations for area residents. The department also has a presence in the Pittsburg USD 250 school system where they provide health education.

For more information about nursing degree programs at Pittsburg State University, call the department at 620-235-4431 or visit the department Web site at www.pittstate.edu/nurs/.

---Pitt State--