Here is a roundup of the latest statistics of interest for nurses on living and working in Texas:
* Texas is still one of only seven states with no state income tax
* Texas has 13 Magnet Hospitals, including the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, designated May 2005, and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, redesignated May 2005.
* According to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN), March 2004: Preliminary Findings, Texas has 643 RNs per 100,000 population, considerably below the national average of 825 per 100,000.
* NSSRN also found more Texas RNs work full time than the national average: 78.1% vs. 70.1%.
* Of the estimated 665,593 nurses in 17 compact states, Texas has the most at 21.4% of the total, according to the NSSRN. Compact states are those which have agreed to honor the license granted RNs from other compact states.
* The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported that the RN vacancy rate in Texas hospitals has steadily decreased over the last four years, but Texas hospitals continue to face recruitment and retention challenges. The 2004 vacancy rate averaged 8.6% for 163 participating hospitals, down from 11% reported by the Texas Hospital Association for 2003. Applying the vacancy rate of 8.6% to all 537 Texas hospitals means about 7,100 RN positions were not filled in February 2004.
* Also, statewide turnover rates, the rate at which nurses leave a hospital, were reported for the first time in Texas. These averaged 15.6% for the 163 hospitals that responded to the survey.
* DSHS says vacancy and turnover rates vary by Texas regions. The metropolitan border region had the highest vacancy rate, while the rural nonborder regions showed the highest turnover rate.
Your Guide to Job Opportunities in Texas
Children's Medical Center
1935 Motor Street
Dallas, TX 75235
Contact: Human Resources
Web site: http://www.childrens.com
Harris County Hospital District
2525 Holly Hall, Ste. 100
Houston, TX 77054
Contact: Human Resources/Employment & Recruitment Division
(713) 566-6408 or (800) 996-4243
(HCHD)
Web site: http://www.hchdonline.com
Medical Center of Plano
3901 W. 15th St., Building 1, Suite 406
Plano, TX 75075
Contact: Cary Morris
(972) 519-1432
Fax: (972) 519-1135
Web site: http://www.medicalcenterofplano.com
Memorial Hermann
Houston, TX 77074
Contact: Human Resources
Jobline: (877) JOB-OPPS (562-6777)
Web site: http://www.memorialhermann.org
Presbyterian Hospital of Denton
3000 North IH-35
Denton, TX 76201
Contact: Human Resource Department
(940) 898-7063
Fax: (940) 898-7195
Email: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.dentonhospital.com
Scott & White
2401 S. 31st St.
Temple, TX 76508
Jobline: (800) 527-JOBS
Contact: Shirley Meadows, RN or Pam
Barton, RN
Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Web site: http://www.sw.org
St. David's Healthcare Partnership
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 397-4000
Web site: http://www.careers.stdavids.com
Texas Health Resources
611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 200
Arlington, TX 76011
Contact: Leslie Butler, senior nursing recruiting consultant
(800) 749-6877
Fax: (866) 889-8978
Email: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.JobsTHR.com
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
301 University Blvd.
Galveston, TX 77555-0512
Contact: Nancy Eubanks, RN, program manager
(409) 747-4717 or (877) 886-2499
Web site: http://www.utmbnursing.com
The Midwest states of Kansas, Ohio, and Iowa are not included in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) figures for states with a projected shortage of RNs in 2020. However, HHS figures for Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, North Dakota, and South Dakota forecast a shortfall of more than 99,000 nurses by 2020. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune focused on recruiting men as a way to ease this shortage.
Although precise statistics showing an increase of men in nursing are hard to come by, the 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) found that 5.4% of RNs are men. Preliminary findings from the March 2004 NSSRN show a slight increase to 5.7%, and the Chicago Tribune cites the American Association of Colleges of Nursing figures of 2,600 more male BSN students in 2005 than 2004.
Chicago-area men interviewed for that article were choosing nursing as a second or even third career choice. Previous career choices among them were medic, welder, police officer, firefighter, public school teacher, and Chicago Board of Trade employee. These men seemed to choose nursing for security, variety, and salaries.
And salaries are rising. Figures from the November 2004 Bureau of Labor Statistics-the latest available-show RNs in the Chicago area, which includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, earn an average annual salary of $54,460. The statewide average is $51,600.
The Chicago Tribune article quotes Jim Raper, president of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing, who said that the recruitment of men is an untapped area. A major barrier, the article noted, is stereotypes. The article mentions a hospital and a school of nursing in the Chicago area that are making some attempts to reach out specifically to men.
Your Guide to Job Opportunities in the Midwest
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
4353 Clayton Avenue, Suite 150
Mailstop 90-68-121
St. Louis, MO 63110
Contact: Recruitment
(866) 292-HIRE
Web site: http://www.BarnesJewish.org
Mayo Clinic
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905
Contact: Human Resources staffing specialist
(800) 562-7984
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.org
University of Chicago Hospitals
5841 S. Maryland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637
Contact: Nurse Recruitment MC-1053
(773) 702-1734
Fax: (773) 702-0265
Web site: http://www.uchospitals.edu