PHOENIX — As the nationwide nursing shortage continues to unfold, it’s expected to be the most significant in Arizona by next year, according to one health care report.
But health care providers are working to find innovative ways to ease the shortage.
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“You’re supposed to love your career,” said Wendy Fitzpatrick, the recruitment supervisor for Abrazo Health, who talked with 12News about their need for new nurses.
“We’re trying to get entry-level people in, train them to be PCAs, make them eligible for tuition reimbursement,” she said. “We need as many nurses as possible.”
But they’re up against a big challenge - the critical nursing shortage across Arizona.
According to the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, if we keep heading in this direction, our state will have more than 28,000 fewer registered nurses than it needs by 2025.
In that case, Arizona would have the worst nursing shortage in the country next year. There are a lot of factors impacting the situation. Fitzpatrick said one of the major challenges is the fast-growing population.
“We’re seeing people moving here all the time,” she said. “We can’t graduate people fast enough... the schools have wait lists, sometimes it’s up to two years.”
“The medical field is expanding faster than we can graduate people and grow them,” she added.
The shortage is forcing recruiters to do things differently, like holding hiring events every 90 days.
“They’ve been meeting with our managers, and we’ve made quite a few offers,” said Fitzpatrick.
And so far, she said it’s been working well.
In fact, people like Jordyn Younge just got hired on the spot.
“Yeah, I had clinical experience through my nursing program,” Younge said. “I did not know I’d get a job going straight in, but I’m very happy that I did.”
And paramedic Vincent Maldonado.
“Right now, especially in Arizona, with our health care shortage, you know, they are always available, but they are still very selective,” he said.
Maldonado stopped by a job fair hoping to get a job.
“I left getting it,” Maldonado was thrilled to get hired and he’s ready to work hard.
“I accepted a PRN, which is an as needed paramedic position, and then hopefully I’ll be transitioning to a nurse extern and then hopefully a nursing position,” he said.
Fitzpatrick said new hires like Younge and Maldonado can quickly learn and grow with their team, and they can even wind up working in a surgical unit, if that’s what they’re working toward.
“Opening your doors to the community really helps bring talent in,” said Fitzpatrick. “Because they can see that they’re more than a number here with us, that we truly are better together.”
From here they plan to continue holding regular hiring events, with hopes of making a dent in Arizona’s overall nursing shortage.
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