Thousands of Nurses Needed, School Expands to Meet Demands
By: Brendaliss Gonzalez
Updated: February 28, 2013
With jobs so scarce these days there's one profession that's actually in danger of shortages.
In fact the Texas Nurses' Assn. estimates that there will be a shortage of 70,000 nurses by 2020.
One school in Abilene is expanding to ensure they keep up with the need.
The facilities at the Texas Tech University School of Nursing are just like a real hospital's with plenty of beds, monitors and even patients.
Though the dummy patients may not look as real, they sure do sound it and for nursing students like Alex Watkins, it's as real as it gets.
"We know what we're doing in here we're going to be going out in the world and doing it so it really makes you focus a little bit differently," said Watkins.
Watkins couldn't have enrolled in nursing school at a better time.
The Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies estimates that the demand for Registered Nurses is up by more than 80 percent.
All you have to do is head over across the street from the Texas Tech Nursing School to find out just how much of a demand there really is.
"Baby boomers are getting older we're going to need more nurses to care for them," said Rona Fello, a nurse recruiter at Hendrick Medical Center.
Fello says she's always hiring.
"We're always looking for the right people," said Fello, "We have openings. I've been here for two years and we continue to have openings."
That's one of the main reasons why faculty at Texas Tech are expanding their nursing program.
"There are a lot of middle aged nurses that are thinking about retiring, we need younger nurses coming into the field," said Peal Merritt, the regional dean at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing.
Now students like Watkins have a place where they can not only learn the skills of nursing, but look forward to their future career with a little more assurance.
"I've enjoyed working with the people, at Hendrick, that's where I've been placed this last semester and so if I were to end up here for a while I'd be happy with that," she said.
That's something perhaps Fello wouldn't mind hearing as she keeps hiring.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that more than 500,000 new RN positions will be created through 2018.
In fact the Texas Nurses' Assn. estimates that there will be a shortage of 70,000 nurses by 2020.
One school in Abilene is expanding to ensure they keep up with the need.
The facilities at the Texas Tech University School of Nursing are just like a real hospital's with plenty of beds, monitors and even patients.
Though the dummy patients may not look as real, they sure do sound it and for nursing students like Alex Watkins, it's as real as it gets.
"We know what we're doing in here we're going to be going out in the world and doing it so it really makes you focus a little bit differently," said Watkins.
Watkins couldn't have enrolled in nursing school at a better time.
The Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies estimates that the demand for Registered Nurses is up by more than 80 percent.
All you have to do is head over across the street from the Texas Tech Nursing School to find out just how much of a demand there really is.
"Baby boomers are getting older we're going to need more nurses to care for them," said Rona Fello, a nurse recruiter at Hendrick Medical Center.
Fello says she's always hiring.
"We're always looking for the right people," said Fello, "We have openings. I've been here for two years and we continue to have openings."
That's one of the main reasons why faculty at Texas Tech are expanding their nursing program.
"There are a lot of middle aged nurses that are thinking about retiring, we need younger nurses coming into the field," said Peal Merritt, the regional dean at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing.
Now students like Watkins have a place where they can not only learn the skills of nursing, but look forward to their future career with a little more assurance.
"I've enjoyed working with the people, at Hendrick, that's where I've been placed this last semester and so if I were to end up here for a while I'd be happy with that," she said.
That's something perhaps Fello wouldn't mind hearing as she keeps hiring.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that more than 500,000 new RN positions will be created through 2018.
