The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis said Arizona will have more than 28,000 fewer registered nurses than it needs by 2025.
PHOENIX — As the nursing shortage worsens across the country, one medical report says it is expected to be the worst in Arizona by next year.
But health care providers are working to find innovative ways to alleviate the shortage.
“You should love your career,” Wendy Fitzpatrick, director of recruiting at Abrazo Health, told 12News about the need for new nurses.
“We are trying to take entry-level people, train them to be PCAs, and make them eligible for tuition reimbursement,” she said. “We need as many nurses as possible.”
But they face a major challenge: a severe nursing shortage across Arizona.
If we continue on this path, the state will have more than 28,000 fewer registered nurses than it needs by 2025, according to the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis.
If that happens, Arizona will have the worst nursing shortage in the nation next year. There are many factors that influence the situation. Mr Fitzpatrick said one of the major challenges was the rapid growth of the population.
“We see people moving here all the time,” she said. “We can't graduate students fast enough…Schools have waiting lists that can take up to two years in some cases.”
“The medical field is expanding faster than we can graduate and grow people,” she added.
The talent shortage is forcing recruiters to take different measures, such as holding recruiting events every 90 days.
“They've met with our managers and we've made quite a few offers,” Fitzpatrick said.
And so far, she said, it's working well.
In fact, people like Jordyn Young were hired on the spot.
“Yes, I had clinical experience through the nursing program,” Young said. “I didn't expect to get a job right away, but I'm very happy that I did.”
and paramedic Vincent Maldonado.
“There is a shortage of health care right now, especially in Arizona, and while health care is always available, it is still very selective,” he said.
Maldonado stopped by the job fair hoping to get a job.
“I quit getting it'' Maldonado is excited to have been hired and is ready to work hard.
“I accepted a PRN, which is a paramedic job as needed, and then I would like to move into an outpatient nurse position and possibly a nursing position,” he said.
Fitzpatrick said new hires like Young and Maldonado can learn quickly and grow with the team, and if they strive for it, they can eventually work on the surgical ward. That's what he said.
“Opening our doors to the community really helps attract talent,” Fitzpatrick says. “Because they understand that they are more than just a number here with us and that we are truly better together.”
They plan to continue holding regular recruitment events in the future to help ease the nursing shortage across Arizona.
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