Surgical techs help ease nursing shortage

Western Nevada Community College will graduate its first class of 15 surgical technologists on Feb.

27.

Nevada's healthcare providers are watching anxiously.

They have a lot riding on this meager group as the graduates will help alleviate the state's nursing shortage.

Nevada now ranks 50th in the country in nurses per capita.

While the entire country suffers a nursing shortage, Nevada's situation is particularly acute because of tremendous population growth, along with barriers in the state's educational process.

Nevadaworks, the workforce development resource for northern Nevada, along with a consortium of local healthcare experts identified several potential methods to address the nursing shortage.

One of these methods was to create the state's first Surgical Technology program at WNCC.

The surgical technology program is designed to combat the nursing shortage by freeing nurses from surgical duties.

"The closest surgical technology program was in Sacramento, and the clinical portion of that program is very limited, to the point where none of the applicants at local hospitals were coming in with actual surgical experience at all," said Sharon Nipp, a grants analyst for Nevadaworks.

Nipp explained that because there has been no program here, nurses in local hospitals are pulling "double duty." What does a surgical technologist do? Dr.

Judith Cordia, WNCC's Director of Allied Health explained, "It's what you see on TV.

They pass instruments, they maintain a sterile field and they prep patients and the O.R.

for surgery."

With Nevadaworks' help in securing a $225,000 grant, WNCC was able to implement the new program.

The grant covers tuition for 32 qualified applicants, new faculty salaries, textbooks, uniforms and a $30,000 simulated operating room.

The first group of students will complete the program this month, the second in November of 2004.

At that point, 32 surgical technologists will have entered northern Nevada's workforce.

"We've got a great faculty," Cordia said, "and the enormity of preparing a curriculum was hard.

But mostly it's been as we'd imagined.

The students seem to been as we'd imagined.

The students seem to understand we're new and we're all in this together."

For one of this month's graduates, Geoff Loris, this program marks a career change.

Loris, a retired Air Force deputy fire chief, had initially been interested in nursing.

"I'm married to a retired OR nurse," Loris said, "So I knew what the job was, but I didn't know that was an option for me.

I like surgery, I like that it's making a hands-on difference, and that it's cutting edge.

It's a good niche for me."

In Loris' 10 months of training, he has studied instrumentation, procedures, diseases, anesthesiology, prepping and draping patients, sterilization procedures, positioning of tables and lights, monitoring equipment, and has observed and assisted in a few surgeries.

"I think the program's worked very well, considering how new it is," Cordia said.

"We've got 15 of our original 16 students, who have experienced 400 hours in both acute care and same day surgery centers."

This two-year grant expires in November, and WNCC anticipates taking over the program in August 2005.

In the meantime, the program will not disappear.

Cordia points out that the lapse allows WNCC time to hire a program director and faculty, and to evaluate the program's strengths and weaknesses.

"All that takes time," she said.

"It takes a team's concerted effort to make this come alive."

Loris already feels that he's making an impact.

"This is an upwardly mobile profession that provides a decent living.

It's a good way to grow in the healthcare system.

And the nurses we're relieving are thrilled to have us!"