Katie McGrath, a registered nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, recently completed the LAUNCH program after graduating from Salisbury University with a nursing degree last year.
The orientation program Standing for Leading A Unique Nurse to Career Happiness, helps ease the transition for nursing graduates into clinical settings.
How has the LAUNCH program helped your development as a nurse?
The faculty members go over policies and procedures with you, like blood transfusions and hospital protocols and skills. After a few months, they meet up with you for follow-up sessions to see how you?re doing.
Have you witnessed a nursing shortage across the state?
Definitely. You can tell, even with the staff on our floor, that it?s sometimes hard to find nurses. But it hasn?t compromised our staff so far. We just hired 10 new nurses on our floor, but [the positions] had been vacant for a few months.
What can hospitals do to alleviate the problem?
Retention is a big thing. A lot of nurses I?ve been with have been there a long time. There?s not much to convince them to stay when they?re eligible to retire. [Hospitals] can also be more aggressive with recruiting and go to schools ? even with freshman and sophomores in college and not just waiting until they?re seniors.
What encouraged you to become a nurse?
My Mom had breast cancer when I was young. Just seeing the nurses take good care of her made me want to be in the medical field to help other people, too.
What are your future aspirations?
I want to be certified in [administering] chemotherapy ? that?s my ultimate dream. I?m thinking of going back to school for public health and hopefully I can work in [St. Joseph] Cancer Institute.
