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SIREN SYSTEM
An Outdoor Warning System is being installed on campus to broadcast alerts during life-threatening emergencies.
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REMEMBERING RAY COFER
Ray "Wiley" Cofer, a master steamfitter in Facilities at Duke, was known for his quick-wit and expert craftsmanship.
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SUSTAINABLE DUKE
Duke University Press is one example of a department working to leave a lighter environmental footprint.
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Born To RN
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Duke nurse Carolyn Juettner reads to her son, Jack, while sitting on a cozy window seat built with bonus money Juettner received for referring another nurse to Duke University Hospital.
$ 5 , 0 0 0 R E F E R R A L B O N U S N E T S N U R S E S F O R D U K E ’ S H O S P I TA L S hen Carolyn Juettner and her husband bought a 96-year-old farmhouse in 2005, it required renovation, but progress was slow with a tight budget and birth of their first child. Then, Juettner received the first half of a $5,000 bonus from Duke, and construction picked up. The money was enough to refinish hardwood floors and construct a toy box that doubles as a window seat. Now Juettner enjoys curling up on the cozy seat in her Chapel Hill home to read about animals to her 2-yearold son, Jack. The remodeling was possible because Juettner, a clinical nurse in the Intensive Care Nursery at Duke Hospital, simply referred a fellow nurse and friend, Simone Christiano, to work at the hospital. “I wanted to bring good, experienced staff here,” said Juettner, 39, who has worked as a nurse for 18 years. “If you’re in nursing, and you’re working next to someone, you want them to be reliable.” Eight years ago, Duke University Health System created the Nurse Referral Program. It encourages nurses like Juettner to recruit other nurses – who are in critically short supply across the country – to work at Duke Hospital. The program has expanded, and today, any Duke employee can cash-in on $5,000 by referring a qualified nurse who joins one of Duke’s three hospitals, including Durham Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital. “We knew word-of-mouth was the best recruitment mechanism, and Duke nurses can sell the organization,” said Mary Ann Fuchs, chief nursing and patient care officer for the Health System. The program is an important recruitment tool that also improves retention by paying the bonus in two installments – half when the new nurse completes a 90-day orientation period and half after completing the first year. Recruitment and retention are increasingly important in light of a national nursing shortage, Fuchs said. Hospitals are short about 116,000 registered nurses nationally, resulting in a national vacancy rate of 8.1 percent, according to a report released by the American Hospital Association in July 2007. Duke University Health System often uses higher cost temporary staff to fill nursing vacancies, which are slightly higher at Duke than the national average. Fuchs said she hopes the referral program will help reduce the need for temporary staff by increasing the number of permanent Duke nurses.
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2007 Gold Medal, Internal Periodical Staff Writing 2007 Bronze Medal, Print Internal Audience Tabloids/Newsletters
“We’re actually very lucky because due to our reputation, we receive a lot of applicants,” Fuchs said. “We hire about 500 nurses a year, some of whom are returning to Duke after taking time to pursue advanced nursing degrees. We’re also growing as an institution and need more nurses for that expansion.”
Return on Investment Although the $5,000 is an enticing benefit, Duke nurses like Juettner said making a referral is about more than just money. “Simone and I worked together in New Jersey years ago, and I knew she was a good nurse,” Juettner said.
The nurse who is referred also feels some accountability because they don’t want to disappoint the person who referred them. Both people’s reputations are tied to it.”
Sylvia Alston
— Sylvia Alston, Associate Chief Nursing Officer/ Recruitment and Hospital Administrative Systems
That personal accountability makes the Nurse Referral Program work, said Sylvia Alston, associate chief nursing officer for Recruitment and Hospital Administrative Systems. “The nurse who is referred also feels some accountability because they don’t want to disappoint the person who referred them,” Alston said. “Both people’s reputations are tied to it.” Alston said it’s become tougher to find experienced nurses, like Simone Christiano, for many reasons, including increased demand nationally, an aging workforce, and because nurses are moving on to second careers. But, recruitment numbers are up at Duke, and Alston >> See BORN TO RN, PAGE 5
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