WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Polk State College nursing student, Kassidy Dipierro did not always want to become a nurse. She already has a degree in another field.
“Completely different, completely different. Actually I wanted to go into education,” said Dipierro.
During the pandemic Dipierro felt nursing is what she was called to do.
“There is a need for it and it’s just hard to describe the feeling that you get when you can help somebody in a time that they really need support,” Dipierro said.
Polk State College will be able to potentially expand enrollment into its nursing program, thanks to $1.4 million in funding, designed to mitigate Florida’s nursing shortage.
The funds are part of $79 million awarded across the state to high-performing nursing programs by Gov. DeSantis earlier this month.
“Polk State College puts out approximately 230 nurses into our community every year between our associates and our bachelors' program. The community needs 300. The hospitals say they have 300 vacancies, so we still need more,” said Laura Glidewell, Professor of Pharmacology.
The college is investing the money in equipment and training. The school has already purchased several mannequins for its human simulation center, where students can practice their techniques on very realistic patients.
“They learn better through technology so we’re just trying to meet them where they’re at meet their needs, and at the same time allow for the potential of more people to come into our program,” Glidewell said.
The money will also be used to expand tutoring services in collaboration with healthcare partners to maximize student completion and increase job placements.
Quality nursing education is vital as the need for nurses continues to grow. The Florida Center for Nursing forecasts 40% of baby boomer nurses will retire in the next 10 years. ABC Action News asked Florida’s Nursing Association to put that into perspective.
“Current nurse openings are probably pretty severe right now and once again we don’t have the numbers individually. One reason is because institutions may be hesitant to share what their openings are,” said Willa Fuller, Executive Director of Florida Nursing Association.
Fuller said the nursing shortage is a very complex issue. She said while COVID-19 exacerbated the shortage, many nurses left Florida to travel to other states where they could make more money.
