Recruiting tomorrow's nurses

From factory floor to patient's bedside

Hospitals, nursing schools team up to lure autoworkers to new careers

Sofia Kosmetatos / The Detroit News

Until last year, Josh Cline made car door panels for a living.

The 27-year-old from Lapeer took a factory job when he was 19, and spent the past seven years on the line with Ford Motor Co. The factory career ended Dec. 22, his last day at the Utica trim plant after taking an educational buyout.

Just weeks later, Cline is taking college classes, and plans to become a nurse.

"There is good money in the field. There is security. There is a job," he said. And, it comes with the gratification of getting to help people.

Faced with a nursing shortage that will only worsen in the next decade, the Michigan health industry and state officials see a potential worker windfall in displaced auto workers like Cline and other victims of Michigan's stagnant economy who are too young to retire and want stable, good-paying jobs.

To lure the nurses of tomorrow, and get them into the work force quickly, universities and hospitals are joining together to start programs that can turn students into nurses in as little as a year.

Not surprisingly, interest in the programs appears strong. Last month, some 250 people attended a session held by Beaumont Hospitals and Michigan State University to let people know about an accelerated nursing program for displaced workers who already have bachelor's degrees. Many who attended were from the automotive industry, Beaumont spokeswoman Ilene Wolf said.

"The need (for jobs) in Michigan right now is because of the severe layoffs in autoworkers," said Barbara Penprase, director of the second degree nursing program at Oakland University. "There's a match because nursing has this severe shortage."

Beyond nursing, the growing health care industry -- seen by many as a sector that eventually will help Michigan emerge from its economic malaise -- also needs other workers who could come from the auto industry ranks.

"There are lots and lots of jobs for those displaced workers," said Carole Stacy, director of the Michigan Center for Nursing. "We need to look at demographics, we need to look at what skill sets do they have that would help them transition into something in health care."

The state will be short 7,000 nurses by 2010, and that number will only grow as droves of nurses retire in the next couple of decades, said Jeanette Klemczak, the state's chief nursing executive, who was appointed by the governor in 2004 to address the shortage.

At the same time, the state's surplus of auto workers keeps increasing as Detroit's Big 3 undergo a massive downsizing. Michigan lost 92,200 automotive manufacturing jobs from 2001 through 2006, according to state data. University of Michigan economists Joan Crary, George Fulton and Saul Hymans forecast Michigan will lose another 44,900 auto factory jobs from 2006 to 2008.

Promoting opportunities

The Beaumont-MSU information session last month was the health system's first recruitment effort targeted to auto workers, said Linda Kruso, director for workforce planning at Beaumont.

The health system wants to "expose these individuals to the opportunities that exist in health care," she said. "Many of them may not be aware of the wide range of opportunities."

Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center also is making sure displaced autoworkers know about its accelerated degree program in partnership with Oakland University. Diane DiFiore, nurse recruiting manager for Oakwood Healthcare System, said Ford and General Motors Corp. human resources departments were contacted about information sessions in December and January

Hospitals and schools also have reached out through career fairs at Ford. DiFiore joined Oakland University at the Woodhaven stamping plant last year to tout careers in health care.

The state awarded $20 million for accelerated programs the past two years, and is in the process of awarding about $10 million for this year. These grants combine federal and state funds.

A 'pipeline for nurses'

More targeted efforts are under way:

• Since last March, Oakland University has been collaborating with Henry Ford Health System to create an accelerated nursing program specifically for displaced Ford workers. There will be two tracks. One will be for those without a college degree, and will compress a four-year nursing degree program into three. The other will be a second-degree program like those offered at Michigan State and Oakland University.

Since the health system publicized its efforts last fall, nearly 50 Ford workers have called, said Jeri Jackson, administrator for nursing development and research at Henry Ford.

• The Detroit Medical Center and Oakland University plan a health care career center that will target unemployed workers for training in entry level health-care jobs. The partnership was awarded about $3 million in December by the city of Detroit, which will pay for students' courses, said Thomas Schumann, executive director of continuing and professional development at Oakland University's School of Nursing.

There is a benefit for Henry Ford and other health systems that partner with schools to provide clinical training for students: Ready-made employees, trained in the ways of the health systems.

"We're trying in every way that we can to create this pipeline for nurses at Henry Ford Health System," Jackson said.

Seeking stable employment

Oltea Munteanu designed car interiors at Lear Corp. for three years as a contract employee before she was laid off in 2001. She considered herself lucky to hop from company to company doing temporary work until she had a baby in 2005.

"I was looking for work all the time," Munteanu said.

Now the engineer is changing tracks to become a nurse. She's earning a bachelor's degree through a 12-month second-degree program at Oakland University's School of Nursing.

Even those who aren't casualties of auto industry downsizing are seeing opportunities for second careers in health care.

Joshua Feldkamp, 27, was a flight instructor and commercial pilot for cargo companies and regional airlines after graduating from Western Michigan University several years ago.

The career was stressful, volatile and paid poorly. "It wasn't very satisfying to me," he said.

So Feldkamp, of Saginaw, found a way out: an accelerated nursing degree program at Michigan State University that will allow him to get a registered nursing degree in about a year.

When he graduates in August, Feldkamp expects to make "quite a bit" more than he did as an entry-level pilot, with the added benefit of job stability.

Job stability and good benefits make health care jobs attractive. But educators caution that careers in health care, in particular, nursing, are not for everyone.

"It's a career for someone who is interested in working closely with people," said Teresa Wehrwein, assistant dean for professional partnerships and faculty practice at Michigan State's College of Nursing.

Sandy Szekely, nurse development specialist for the Oakwood Healthcare System, said she's had several people ask about nursing jobs mainly because they were interested in job security. "If that's all you want it for, it's not for you," she said.

Getting through a one-year program is tough, too. The condensed program requires a time commitment of about 60 to 70 hours a week, including class time and studying. Administrators discourage students in these programs from working while they're attending school, because of the long hours.

Tuition help available

Nursing school tuition varies according to the school and type of program.

For students who don't have the help of an educational buyout from Ford or GM, there is other tuition funding available. St. John Health System, for example, offers loan forgiveness programs for students at Oakland University who agree to work for the health system when they graduate.

Students can also save by taking prerequisites at community colleges.

For Cline, starting at a community college is also a way to ease into college after years on the line -- and home schooling through high school. Jumping into classes right away at Oakland University, where he wants to transfer to complete his nursing degree, "would be a bit of a stretch."

You can reach Sofia Kosmetatos at (313) 222-2401 or skosmetatos@detnews.com