Nursing School Applications Increase Despite Toll Of COVID-19 Pandemic

Aspiring nurses are lining up even as the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on medical staff. Enrollment in nursing programs across the U.S. increased nearly 6% in 2020 from the year before, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Nursing school applications at Temple University in Pennsylvania increased about 15% this fall, according to assistant dean Michael Usino. In 2019, almost 7,500 people applied for about 110 spots. Usino said he initially expected the pandemic to reduce interest in nursing.

"What we were initially afraid of was that students were going to be seeing the news in social media and what's happening in the hospitals and on the front lines and be dissuaded from nursing," Usino said. "But I think we've been very lucky with this generation of students feeling that inspiration to actually want to serve the community."

Leilani Christina Clark said she wants to be a nurse so that she "can make a difference" in someone's life or make their day better "when they're going through a difficult time."

Emily Greene said the pandemic has inspired her to pursue a job in health care.

"I think with the pandemic, people shy away from health care now, but watching my friends and family work tirelessly, I've never felt more motivated and more excited to be in health care," she said.

However, Greene said she was warned about potential burnout. "Burnout is like the first thing that everyone mentions to me like, 'Oh, you're crazy,'" she said.

Nursing department chair Mary Terhaar said Temple University makes self-care, mental health and learning how to avoid burnout part of its curriculum.

"You think that it's the sciences that you need to master our anatomy and physiology or pharmacology, but you also really need to learn, how do I take care of myself?" Terhaar said.

First published on November 3, 2021 / 7:15 PM

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