This Saturday, students form the MSU College of Nursing will graduate from the college with a pinning ceremony and enter into a job market that is in need of their skills.
As first generation baby-boomers retire from the nursing profession, the need for younger nurses has become apparent, according to a recent report by a health journal.
According to a December report by Health Affairs — a monthly journal about medicine, health care and health care policy — the entry of young registered nurses into the profession is on the rise.
Sixty percent of nurses in Michigan are older than 40 years old, associate dean for academic and clinical affairs Teresa Wehrwein said.
The increase in registered nurses began in the early 1970s and hit an all-time high of 190,000 in 1979, according to a chart from the Health Affairs report.
The number of registered nurses declined and remained fairly static from 1982 until 2002, when it began to increase again.
The MSU College of Nursing admits 170 undergraduate students a year and the enrollment has been steady in recent years, Wehrwein said.
Even if interest grows, the MSU College of Nursing does not have enough facilities to increase their enrollment, she said.
After nursing students graduate and earn a nursing license, the health departments in the hospitals inform the nursing school of how well the graduates are doing.
“We really are looking for individuals who make the best decisions in the professional nursing field,” Wehrwein said.
The requirement for students to use hand-held computers in the nursing school now makes it easier for the students to access information during their clinical classes and in the work fields, Wehrwein said.
“We are always continuing to improve what we do,” she said. “Technology is very important, and when the students come into the program, they use personal hand-held computers to help them learn the material.”
According to Health Affairs, nursing education programs also have developed innovations to draw interest to the field and to make entry into the profession more attainable.
“I feel like hospitals need younger nurses because patient loads can be crazy,” nursing senior Marissa Meli said. “Especially when you are trying to take care of five people at once.”
David Auerbach, a contributor to the Health Affairs journal, said nurses are particularly needed in ambulatory and gerontology care.
Getting a bachelors degree and a nursing license opens up and helps the students with other job opportunities, Wehrwein said.
“Professional nursing is a great opportunity for young people,” she said. “It is a very wide open field once you receive your bachelors degree and nursing license.”
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