PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The last two years of the pandemic have put a strain on the health care system, depleting the front-line workforce.
Despite the setbacks from nationwide nursing burnout, resulting in staff shortages, Holy Family University in Philadelphia is seeing steady enrollment in the career path.
Margaret Harkins, dean of the School of Nursing, believes the pandemic is actually driving more men and women to the field. She said they are seeing students going back to school for a career change as well as people entering nursing for the first time.
After all, it’s no secret that hospitals, doctors’ offices, home care options, and so many other facilities simply can’t function without nurses.
“There are so many other choices that they can make in the health care profession with their license that they don’t have to stay in the hospital,” said Harkins.
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With the rise in COVID-19 cases — and fall, and rise again — more nurses are finding more options with their degrees.
“Some nurses are looking at the home option as part of their career choice,” she noted, “so you don’t necessarily have to have that 12-hour shift.”
Other more appealing positions that need qualified nurses range from pharmaceuticals, at-home care and radiology to administrative work and travel nursing.
Harkins added the need for the job isn’t going away anytime soon.
“We have to get nurses out there into the hospitals, into the nursing homes, into home care. Nursing is, more than ever, important now.”
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