New-grad Missouri nurse hopes to spread positivity in a tough job as nursing employment levels bounce back post-pandemic

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (WGEM) – The shortage of nurses in Missouri has been steadily decreasing since the pandemic, and a new class of nursing students graduating this month are expected to help Missouri hospitals.

Over 1700 students are receiving their diplomas from the University of Missouri this weekend. About 140 of them are nursing students, who will enter a turbulent post-pandemic workforce.

Christian Birtell is a nursing student at the University of Missouri, but not for much longer. He graduates Saturday morning, and then he’ll start his full-time nursing career.

But he knows it won’t be easy.

“There’s a lot of unknowns in the field of nursing, especially right now, but I go in everyday and try to do my best,” Birtell said.

Combated with a difficult job, nurses experience burnout, exhaustion and even PTSD, leading to many leaving the job quickly.

The turnover and vacancy rates for nurses in Missouri is just starting to reach pre-pandemic levels, according to the Missouri Hospital Association. Although nationwide the nurse workforce is expected to grow 6% in the next 10 years, according to the American Association of Nursing Colleges, that’s not enough to keep up with the number of positions expected to open due to retirements and workforce exits.

Birtell saw the increasing workload for nurses over the pandemic while he was a nurse-tech putting himself through school.

But Birtell has a secret weapon for dealing with the day-to-day stress of working in a hospital: a positive mindset.

“Things might be tough and things might be challenging, but if you want to see positivity in the world or if there’s something you want to see changed, you yourself are the best person to go and try to make that happen,” Birtell said.

While at Mizzou, Birtell started an organization that aims to spread positivity and bring the Tiger community together. Show Me Happy spreads happiness through hand-written notes and short online videos they call “happy grams.”

“The result was this positive, for lack of a better term, explosion of positivity and smiles and that sort of thing,” Birtell said.

Show Me Happy is expected to continue after Birtell graduates this weekend, and he also expects to continue this mission.

“If I can go and spread positivity and create an impact, why not everyone else?” Birtell said.

Copyright 2024 WGEM. All rights reserved.