A few graduates of the nursing program who are now employed acted as mentors for many of the students being trained as surgical technologists, said Donna Miller, the surgical technologist instructor and an operating room nurse at Georgetown Memorial Hospital, a clinical site for students to train. Georgetown Memorial Hospital funded the education for four of the students in return for their commitment to work at the hospital, said Gayle Resetar, assistant administrator at Georgetown Memorial. Recruiting from technical colleges has proven successful, she said. We're also monitoring hospital closings and those that are downsizing. Other recruitment techniques include hospitals offering sign-on bonuses and relocation bonuses.
Hospitals also rely on contract employees, an expensive alternative.
In response to a need for more nurse's aides, Conway Hospital offered an in-house training course. Many of the allied health programs don't require lengthy education, but do require certification and other training. With all that is available here, if someone wanted to go back to school and train for a profession, there should be no reason not to. She had a job awaiting her at an eye clinic. To create new programs and to keep existing programs alive in colleges, hospitals have had to supplement funding to hire instructors.