<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=44qoXO_116kVL1p00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=44qoXO_116kVL1p00" width="1200" height="600" >TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for registered nurses to grow over the next decade, with about 194,500 forecasted each year. Locally in the Magic Valley, officials with St. Luke’s are still seeing a shortage of nurses. It got very bad during COVID, as hospital’s were overrun, and the staff suffered from burnout. A shortage of nurses contributed to the overworked staffSince then, St. Luke’s has improved it’s recruiting efforts and incentives to attract nurses to work for them. This has added more nurses to their staff and decreased the number of traveling nurses they would need. However, St. Luke’s Magic Valley Nursing Director Andrea Blackburn said there’s still some barriers hindering people from becoming nurses. “Time and the financial commitment are two big ones that maybe prevent people from going to nursing school,” Blackburn said.Blackburn added having a lack of nurses also can affect patient care, and can lead to patients being transferred to other facilities in Boise or Salt Lake. Blackburn said they would much rather keep patients local so they can be close to their families. To remedy this, St. Luke’s Magic Valley has worked with the College of Southern Idaho to create a new part-time registered nursing program. CSI Department of Nursing Chair Karen Tautfest said it takes what students learn in the full-time course and spaces it out over a longer period of time. To put that in perspective, the full-time program takes 2 years to complete, while the part-time course will take 3 years. “So it takes the student twice as long, but they can do it in the evenings and their clinical is on a weekend,” Tautfest said.Classes would be on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 9, with an occasional Thursday evening for labs. Tautfest added it opens up the opportunity for people who want to start a career in nursing, but can’t find the time to do the full-time program. “Childcare issues, current work schedules, it’s very difficult for somebody to work full-time and be in the full-time program,” Tautfest said.People working full-time was one of the things they considered with this program and they hope addressing that issue can help with the nursing shortage. Blackburn hopes this program will allow them to continue to build up the nursing workforce in the Magic Valley.The goal in that is to have students that are local that are rooted here that don’t want to leave but want the opportunity to grow," Blackburn said.The part-time program has eight slots available. Depending on it’s success, more could be added. Registration is open until June 1st, with classes starting this fall. The link to apply is here.</div></body>

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TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for registered nurses to grow over the next decade, with about 194,500 forecasted each year. Locally in the Magic Valley, officials with St. Luke’s are still seeing a shortage of nurses. It got very bad...

CSI to launch new part-time nursing program

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TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for registered nurses to grow over the next decade, with about 194,50

CSI to launch new part-time nursing program

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