DeTar Critical Care ICU Cohorts
10/31/2023
Hospital employment has looked a lot different since the COVID-19 pandemic. Facilities across the United States have reported experiencing staffing issues and the shortage in nursing positions has had significant impact locally, including the Intensive Care Units at DeTar Hospital. In general, nursing in all departments even outside of ICU is still attempting to overcome the losses due to the stress of COVID.
Recently, DeTar nursing leaders Jessica Heller, education director; Erin Piwetz, ICU director and Heidi Wolf, chief nursing officer, identified the need for the hospital to take advantage of the fact that the Victoria community is home to a local community college that graduates forty to fifty students, twice a year. With the impact on ICU being so great, it was decided that training new graduates would help the hospital to overcome the shortage.
However, the eight to twelve weeks of training provided to newly hired seasoned ICU nurses would not be sufficient enough to fill positions and have nurses up to speed with ICU practices and procedures. After debating on various solutions, it was decided that DeTar Hospital would create a program which would generate resilient and respected ICU nurses from recent graduates. From this, the ICU Cohort was created.
The six month program includes weekly didactic sessions and the opportunity to not only practice, but even allow nurses to perfect their skill set. Heller, Piewetz and Wolf are confident that the didactic presenters are providing the cohort members with the information needed to expand upon their nursing school knowledge and assist them in a better understanding of the physiologic needs of an ICU patient.
In addition, the longer preceptor time provides nurses with various preceptors so that the cohort member can combine the strongest aspects of care provided by that preceptor. DeTar Hospital is creating nurses that are robust in skill set, loyal to his/her co-workers, and fundamentally knowledgeable of all aspects of ICU care in hopes that their longevity at DeTar Hospital will surpass that of those without the training needed to succeed.
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