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Description: Nursing Boot Camp Program
In 2004, 60 percent of registered nurses in Iowa were 43 years of age or older (Iowa Department of Public Health, 2004). A Governor’s Taskforce on the state’s nursing shortage reported that in 2001 Iowa had 2,500 vacancies for registered nurses. A report by the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Center for Health Workforce Planning found that the shortfall of nurses in Iowa is projected to increase from 8 percent in 2005 to 27 percent in 2020. This represents close to 25 percent of the number of actively licensed RNs in Iowa in 2004.
Kirkwood Community College’s Nursing Boot Camp is a day-and-a-half intensive workshop consisting of presentations, networking, hands-on skill sessions and a simulation activity. The goal is to allow non-practicing nurses an opportunity to refresh their knowledge and skills in preparation for re-entry into the healthcare workforce.
Speakers are area health professionals; topics include Back Care & Body Mechanics; Infection Control and Safety; Medication Update; plus a Learn-over-Lunch facilitated discussion on physician/nurse communication. For the skill sessions, participants engage in hands-on learning labs in the area of assessment techniques, ABGs, Oxygen application, blood pressure administration, IVs (insertion, I-Med, priming, hanging fluids), Phlebotomy, catheters, NG, Trach care, Injections, Med calculations, blood sugar testing. The skills stations are staffed by Registered Nurses and a certified phlebotomist. The simulation activity allows participants to work as a team would in the clinical setting, utilizing their newly refreshed skills in a safe, non-threatening environment.
Facts:
- Number of participants: 76 students in seven classes over the last two years
- Participant fees: $59 per student. Note: this program is in start up. Cost is low to generate interest; will raise to meet OM
- Cost of program: $1,500 per course
- Income generated: $4,500
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