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When she was 6, Jacquelyn Long went to her pediatrician
for an annual physical expecting a lollipop and a clean
bill of health. Instead, she was diagnosed with a Wilms'
tumor and was immediately sent to the University of
Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. She was operated
on the next day.
Today, what Long remembers most about the experience
were the nurses. They talked to her, walked in the halls
with her, rocked her to sleep at night and taught her
what she missed in school. "They made a bad experience
seem like it wasn't so bad and I could deal with it,"
she said.
She knew for certain that when she grew up she would
become a nurse, she said. She didn't understand what
a diagnosis of cancer meant, but nurses and doctors
were poking her with needles and she could not figure
out what bad thing she had done to deserve to be treated
that way. "The nurses explained that it wasn't
something I did and they weren't trying to punish me,"
Long said. "They wanted me to go home, too, and
they were trying to help me get there.
"I can empathize and sympathize with sick children."
Long did become a nurse and is now one of 69 nurses
whose stories are featured in Johnson & Johnson's
Discover Nursing campaign and on its Web site at www.discovernursing.com.
Despite her illness, Long was never behind in school.
She was valedictorian of her elementary school, junior
high and high school. Long credits these accomplishments
to the nurses who helped her to keep up with her schoolwork.
Her desire to become a nurse never wavered and she
was determined to pursue a career in pediatrics.
She attended Wayne State University, where she received
her BSN, then went on to complete her MSN and become
a pediatric nurse practitioner. Long now works in a
mobile clinic at Children's Hospital of Michigan and
is working on her Ph.D. in nursing.
Meanwhile, the American Hospital Association reports
126,000 vacant full-time RN positions throughout the
country.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by the
year 2020, this number will swell to a national shortage
of 400,000 RNs. A recent poll by Vanderbilt University
School of Nursing reports that 81 percent of Americans
recognize there is a nursing shortage and 65 percent
see this shortage as a major problem or crisis.
When Johnson & Johnson's vice chairman, James Lenehan,
heard about the nursing shortage and its statistics,
he decided to look for ways that his company could help.
To address the shortage, Johnson & Johnson launched
Discover Nursing, a campaign to attract more people
to the field.
The campaign has no scheduled endpoint and is expected
to spend more than $20 million during the next two years.
Johnson & Johnson would like to see its campaign
increase recruitment and enhance the image of nursing.
In the future, Discover Nursing will expand to address
nurse retention.
Johnson & Johnson is using several approaches to
reach the public through its campaign.
Its Web site conveys the benefits of a career in nursing
and provides links to nursing schools and scholarship
programs, and profiles 69 nurses in a variety of nursing
careers. Since its launch Feb. 6, the site has had more
than 70,000 visitors.
The campaign also includes a scholarship fund for undergraduate
students and nursing faculty. In addition, Johnson &
Johnson sponsors regional events to celebrate nursing
and to raise money for additional scholarships.
The company has already announced the first 17 scholarships
awarded by the program.
More than 50,000 brochures, posters and videos have
been mailed to high schools, nursing schools, hospitals
and nursing organizations. The company is preparing
a second mailing of recruitment materials.
The media campaign, which features nurses and celebrates
their contributions to the profession, was launched
on television during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
"We've heard from thousands of people about the
commercials. The responses have been tremendously warm
and rewarding. Many individual nurses and even a graduating
class of nurses have sent thank-you notes," company
spokesman John McKeegan said.
"Who would want to put my face on television?"
Michael Pontacolone, RN, asked when he was approached
to interview for a part in the campaign.
Pontacolone did apply and was chosen to appear in a
commercial and recruitment video.
Pontacolone spent seven hours in front of a camera
talking without a script about why he became a nurse
and what keeps him in nursing.
"It was flattering to be chosen, but it was an
enormous amount of work," Pontacolone said.
Pontacolone said he feels as though he has a taste
of what it is like to be a celebrity. He was surprised
by the "unbelievable recognition" he received.
"It was a heady experience having the spotlight
on me and being recognized for the hard work I do,"
he said.
Hundreds of strangers came up to him, saying they saw
him on television and congratulated him. "People
were excited for me. They were happy that nurses as
a whole were getting a pat on the back," Pontacolone
said.
From concept to launch, the campaign took about a year
to create. Numerous nurses with a variety of backgrounds
served on the campaign's advisory board.
Cynthia Capers, Ph.D., RN, dean at the University of
Akron College of Nursing in Ohio, was asked to assist
Johnson & Johnson as the company developed video
production and to make suggestions on the most effective
ways to raise public awareness of the nursing shortage.
"The profession should use this 'gift' as a tool
or launching point to further advance our goals and
to educate the public in terms of the numerous opportunities
in the profession," Capers said.
She would like to see the campaign increase public
awareness, improve the perception of nursing and boost
efforts to retain nurses.
Another nurse who served on the campaign's planning
committee was Geraldine Bednash, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, executive
director of the American Association of Colleges of
Nursing.
As a campaign adviser, part of her responsibilities
include connecting planners with other stakeholders
within nursing and serving as an advocate for the campaign.
Bednash, too, is impressed with Johnson & Johnson's
corporate responsibility and willingness to step forward
and address the nursing shortage.
"I hope this campaign serves as a call to action
for other corporate citizens. As the new nursing shortage
unfolds, the profession needs a real shot in the arm,"
she said.
Contact
Carol Lindsay at carol@lindsay.net.
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