Tennessee hospitals work to address shortage of 15,000+ nurses

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients were turned away from rural hospitals at capacity and referred to the next town over. Some healthcare experts fear we could see a similar trend again, not due to a lack of beds, but instead due to a lack of staffing.

The nursing shortage is already severe in the Volunteer State. According to the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA), in 2021, the state needed roughly 15,700 more registered nurses to provide a “national average of care.” The demand for nurses is expected to grow by 6% each year.

“The fear of that, really, it can affect care, access to care. Rural communities can be affected; even Metropolitan Davidson County Nashville can be affected because it is going to be harder for those hospitals to gain and retain those nurses,” said Murphee Cross, faculty site director and assistant professor at Marian University’s Accelerated BSN Program in Nashville.

THA found that many career nurses are retiring, on top of others stepping away after COVID burnout. However, several hospitals are teaming up with nursing schools to offer on-site, hands-on training. As a result, the THA has even seen staff that didn’t have training.

“Taking a cook from the kitchen and turning them into a nurse, or if it’s taking an LPN and upskilling them to a registered nurse, which is additional training and experience — it’s across the board. Our members are doing a lot of things that they didn’t have to do as much prior,” said Andrew Burnett, vice president of workforce and rural health for THA.

One of those partnerships includes Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West, Marian University’s Leighton School of Nursing, and Trevecca Nazarene University .

“They’ve built inside the hospital a high-fidelity lab that’s really going to put students in active learning situations where within the hospital setting, you’re already doing your rotations. Well, you’re also going to have classrooms within the hospital setting where you’re literally going downstairs and having an opportunity to practice,” said Dr. Tom Middendorf, provost and chief of staff at Trevecca Nazarene University.

The THA thinks healthcare shortages are turning around, from the association’s most recent study predicting a 15,000 worker shortage by 2035.

“I think that since it is a unique way to partner with an educational institution and a hospital facility that we will see that help the pipeline of new nurses, as well,” Cross said.

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