LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hundreds of college graduates nationwide are now registered nurses in the UK HealthCare system, the result of a major recruiting effort to address a nursing shortage in Kentucky.

What You Need To Know

  • UK HealthCare is offering a new graduate recruitment program

  • The hospital is hoping to address staffing shortages in health care

  • Over 300 nurses have been recruited from different schools in the country to come to Kentucky

  • Another registered nurse hiring event will be Nov. 13-14

Last spring, the University of Kentucky health care system put out a call, inviting hundreds of students and job-seekers around the nation to a career fair to get a firsthand look at the program.

“To either give conditional offers there onsite and or share a little bit about what’s taking place within that area so that new grad can make the best decision for themselves,” said UK’s Associate Vice President of Human Resources Frederick Martin.

Students could connect with a hiring manager at the fair, and had opportunities to observe staff up-close.

UK HealthCare is now transitioning around 328 graduates from 40 different colleges to their facilities, filling much-needed positions.

Martin says several causes — from the pandemic, retirement and more — have led to shortages in health care over the last few years. 

“Not having the same amount of numbers coming into the workforce. So you kind of have this sort of perfect storm coming up over the next 10 years,” Martin explained. “And so I think about what we’re doing here at UK Health is thinking about what that future work look like.” 

Martin says they plan to work on retention and helping connect nurses back to their communities. 

“It’s a sense of purpose and having that purpose and saying that, you know, the thing that I want to do is care for folks. But not only care for people but care for the people of Kentucky in the best way, in the best way that I can,” Martin said. 

He says while colleges are their priority for recruiting, they hope to construct a clear pipeline for students as young as middle school age to consider a health care career. Right now, he says nursing staff are in serious need. 

“There is a great need for us here from a nursing perspective. Our nursing population is one of the key areas that we need to grow here at UK HealthCare,” he said. “And so that is a focus of ours not only now but over the next coming years as we look at our hospital expansion.”

Martin says they want to ensure Kentuckians have quality and accessible care.

Related Stories