OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Fields like nursing need a constant supply of workers. A program at Children's Hospital and Medical Center aims to help nursing students make it through school and into a long-term career: Paid hands-on experience as a nursing student.
"I stand by to be a second set of hands for them, pretty much anything obviously within my scope of practice. I am just constantly seeing what I can do to help the nurses out to make their day a little bit easier," said Jessie Montes, a second-year CNA in the Student to Nurse Sponsorship Program.
"The first year as a CNA, you are a flex CNA, which means you go to all the different units around the hospital, so you can kind of see what you like, what you don't like," Montes said.
The program just received a $2 million grant, which will double the number of student nurses they will be able to hire each year from 10 to 20.
"The more people that get an opportunity to learn about pediatrics, the more they realize they love it and they never leave, that's what we need," Anne Dey, director of intensive care at Children's Hospital and Medical Center said.
Dey said the program helps to create a stronger pipeline.
"When nurses have the appropriate assignment and feel like they have a team, they thrive. That's what burnout is about, right, knowing that you have people that can support you, that's what eliminates it," Dey said.
After two years the students graduate and become nurses in the program in their specific unit for two years.
"It's competitive to get a nursing job, especially with kids, but it's nice because I knew I loved the NICU before I became a nurse in the NICU, and like, I had the opportunity to pick a unit that I wanted to be in as a nurse," Heather Bills, NICU nurse in the program said.
Bills said the skills she learned in the first two years have made her a better NICU nurse.
"It makes me more confident when I am floating ... because of the staffing shortages, sometimes you have to float to other units and I feel like I know what those units are like because I've been there as a CNA," Bills said.
Once she finishes the program, she looks forward to continuing to grow at Children's.
"Right now I am happy just being a bedside nurse," Bills said. "I think I'll be in the NICU for a long time. I could see myself venturing other places in the hospital," Bills said.
The program accepts applicants from nursing schools all across Nebraska. For eligibility requirements visit the Children's Hospital & Medical center website.
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