PITTSBURGH — Schools are seeing a record number of enrollments in nursing programs as Pennsylvania prepares for one of the worst shortages in the nation.
Data from the Hospital and Health System Association shows Pennsylvania is expected to still have a shortage of 20,000 nurses in hospitals by 2026.
Nursing schools are seeing record enrollments and hoping to combat that statistic.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, nurses were at the forefront of the media.
Despite wanting to be a nurse at a young age, Tyler Waltenbaugh ultimately went to college for business and entered medical sales.
“After the pandemic just realizing how much help this country needed and the demand for nurses, that’s what kind of pushed me back into it,” Waltenbaugh said.
Years later, he’s now back having just graduated and will start his new nursing job at Forbes.
“Working in healthcare it’s immediately gratifying, the only thing is five years down the road hopefully I will have touched the lives of many more people than those I have in my early career,” Waltenbaugh said.
He’s not alone, West Penn School of Nursing is seeing record enrollments with a 53% increase in the last year.
“I think there was a much bigger interest in healthcare and understanding healthcare and wellness after the pandemic. Lots of people started to explore nursing as a profession,” Amy Stoker, AHN Schools of Nursing Director, said.
Each of their students exited the two-year program with a job, filling a need in local hospitals. It’s a trend they hope to grow to help more people at the bedside.
The new nurses are of all ages and from all walks of life. So the school is also now starting a part-time program with only evening and weekend classes that will get you to be a registered nurse in just three years.
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