Nursing Shortage Initiative, 2003-2007: Project Summaries
Multnomah County Health Department
Nurse Recruitment and Resident Faculty Project
Grant Amount and Duration: $313,854, 2003-06
The goals of the Nurse Recruitment and Resident Faculty Project were to increase the number of current Multnomah County Health Department (MCHD) employees of color/culture entering nursing education programs, and to offer opportunities to currently practicing nurse employees of color/culture to develop as nursing faculty. Secondary goals were to ensure that more undergraduate nursing students rotating into placements with the health department receive exposure to public health nursing, and to open more opportunities for the health department to recruit new graduate nurses from these student groups into nursing positions in the department as they become available.
The intent of the Resident Faculty component of the project was to increase the number of public health faculty-in-residence, thereby increasing the potential number of clinical public health placements available to Portland-area nursing students.
Some key results:
- 31 MCHD employees returned to school in pre-nursing and regular nursing courses. Of these, 14 were from an under-represented group. Four employees were subsequently hired by the health department as community health nurses. The MCHD continues to provide professional and financial support to those staff who go back to nursing school, both in LPN and RN programs.
- 5 resident faculty from MCHD were recruited and placed in clinical education settings such as corrections health, nursing case management in ambulatory care, refugee health, and prenatal services for Latina women. None ultimately became faculty at nursing schools, but all valued the experience of working with students.
- 161 students from 4 schools of nursing completed clinical rotations within the health department. They were exposed to a wide range of client health issues, age groups, co-morbidities, and opportunities to develop clinical and critical thinking skills.
Contact:
Bonnie Kostelecky, RN, MS, MPA
Director of Nursing, Multnomah County Health Department
503-982-4299