ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. has been facing a nurse shortage for years, but the problem only got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Florida alone is projected to have a shortage of 59,100 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses by 2035, according to a report by the Florida Hospital Association.
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Mary Lou Sole, the dean of UCF’s College of Nursing, joined anchor Justin Warmoth on “The Weekly” to explain the new strategies being considered to combat this critical shortfall, including partnering with local health care facilities.
“We know that Central Florida’s growing,” Sole said. “We’re trying to partner with our health care facilities on how we can educate more nurses and more faculty to teach those nurses and then keep everybody engaged and retained once they’re hired at the facilities. It’s so important to address Central Florida and Florida as a whole.”
Job dissatisfaction, burnout and other opportunities — like travel nursing — have all been factors leading to nurses leaving their positions.
Watch the full interview in the video player above.
You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below: