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Paula OhlmannRegistered Nurse | Eastern Long Island Hospital
Paula Ohlmann is doing her part in solving the nursing shortage - by keeping RNs from leaving their institutions. Surveys of 1199SEIU RNs reveal that large numbers leave their jobs during the first five years after being hired. Most of them are new graduates who are overwhelmed by the realities of short staffing that now prevail in many hospitals. Discouraged by the stress of attending to too many patients, they resign or drop out of the profession. One solution to make them stay is to assign nurse preceptors. Apart from their regular bedside nursing duties, they are trained to help the new nurses hurdle the challenging complexities of their first assignments. When asked what qualities a good preceptor needs, Paula Ohlmann cited "patience, knowledge, understanding and a willingness to continue one's own education" on the part of the new nurse. Eastern Long Island Hospital's 30-bed medical-surgical ward is staffed with 25 registered nurses. Paula has been a preceptor, one-to-one, for the last two years to the nurses in her busy department. In recognition of her achievements, she was honored with Nurse Preceptor of the Year during the 2007 Nurse of Distinction Awards sponsored by the 1199 Registered Nurses Division and the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes. The awards, given out each year during Nurse Appreciation Week in May, choose the best 1199 RNs in several categories from more than 40 hospital and nursing homes in metropolitan New York. "Paula is an excellent preceptor," said Theresa Glass, director of clinical services at Eastern Long Island. "She has the experience, expertise and quiet confidence that allows her to take inexperienced novice nurses and transform them, almost effortlessly, into independent practitioners."
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