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Covid-19 wasn’t the only public health concern to emerge while society was in the weeds of the pandemic.
Even before the pandemic, Texas was projected to have a deficit of 60,000 nurses by the end of this decade, according to the Texas Center for Workforce Studies. Major metropolitan areas are likely to be hit worse.
The pandemic, during which many nurses had to work long hours while watching patients suffer and die without adequate treatment options, has caused a burnout. Many others, especially early in the crisis, took on more hazardous assignments, working without sufficient protective equipment. All of it has nurses filing for an exit either through early retirement or pivoting to another career.
“There is a huge gap that our next cohorts will fill,” says Cal Quigley, a nursing adviser at Tarrant County College.
The cohorts he speaks of are the nurses Tarrant County College is sending into the workforce to handle an immediate need with an immediate job out of school. In May, the college handed out diplomas to 135 nursing graduates, each earning an associate’s in nursing, its largest nursing graduation class. They all took part in a pinning ceremony at the Hurst Convention Center on May 15.
Many of those will go on to four-year universities for a Bachelor of Science in nursing, but they will be working in the field as they do that.
Gina Bell was one of those pinned. She has accepted a position with Texas Health Resources Southwest in labor and delivery. That’s the same hospital she delivered her second child.
“During my labor and delivery experience I met a nurse who really inspired me to pursue my dreams,” Bell says. “Growing up I always thought I’d be a nurse. I chose a different career as a young adult. Over the years I’ve continued to feel gravitated to becoming nurse.”
Quigley says TCC has seen a dramatic increase in applications over the past two years, pinning the number around 515 in the most recent first-year class.
“A lot of people are really interested in allied health and nursing” because of the last two years of the pandemic, he says, what with a focus on health care and the realization of job prospects with a shortage in a supply of nurses.
Many of those are coming from outside Tarrant County and its neighbors. Quigley estimated that 15%-20% of applicants are from outside the area, including an “influx from Chicago, New York, D.C., and Philadelphia.”
“People are looking at Texas as a place they can move, where the cost of living is cheaper,” Quigley adds.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics project that the workforce of registered nurses will increase 9% between now and 2029, adding 222,000 new registered nurses to the workforce.
They are in such high demand not only because of attrition but also with an aging population and the rise of people living with chronic diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes, and obesity.
Laurie Clark, a spring graduate who has worked as a medical assistant and phlebotomist, has accepted a residency with Baylor Medical Center in Irving in their step down progressive care unit. After her residency, she ultimately wants to step into the ICU.
Janelle Pickett also has plans. She wants to get into critical care or pediatrics and eventually become a nurse educator “after I gain nursing experience” and a master’s degree, which is in her career blueprint.
She has made it through school with five children at home and a very supportive husband, she says.
“I postponed attending college until all my kids got in school, and I could focus on my studies. More focus? That was a naïve thought. Five kids at home did not allow more time to focus or make it easier to study,” she jokes.