PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A nursing shortage that began before the COVID-19 pandemic has gotten worse over the last year. Now Villanova University is expanding its program to help lure people from other career paths into nursing.
Villanova's Fitzpatrick College of Nursing is receiving a $2.5 million grant from philanthropists William Conway Jr. and Joanne Conway. The money will expand the Second Degree Accelerated Nursing degree track. The grant will provide for 20 scholarships over the next five years.
"Second Degree is a program where those who already have a college degree can earn a degree in nursing. And some of the courses count toward credit for both degrees so it's a shorter trajectory," said dean of nursing Donna Havens. "You have to have a good foundation in the sciences, and of course then you have to take the required nursing courses."
Havens said all it takes is 14 months to complete the program. But she added many of these nursing candidates are making a career change and the grant will provide financial help to smooth the road ahead.
"It attracts many interested and talented people, brings really diverse backgrounds in," she said. "Some have worked, many bring life experiences."
According to Havens, many people in the program are older, tending to be in their 30s.
"They tend to be men, not all men, but there tend to be more men that enter this field," she said. "The men are interesting. When I talk with them, they claim they had always wanted to be a nurse, but at some point earlier, they were discouraged.
Havens added, "Many of these people have family. Because they had a career that most of them are leaving to become a nurse, the income is not there, so they've given up their employment because this is full time and to do it in 14 months is a real effort."