Miami, FL, July 25th 2023 (By Lina Sierra *). Throughout the United States, the shortage of qualified healthcare workers is becoming an epidemic. Hospital systems are grappling with the crippling effects of a workforce that has been over worked for the last several years. This workforce that continues to age and is increasingly opting for early retirement or transitioning to higher paying administrative roles. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be almost 200,000 open nursing positions by the year 2030. (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-6)
Students who are thinking about what their next step should be, finding a career healthcare comes with ample opportunity for growth and will retain longevity and demand. Just about anything in the healthcare field is a reasonable choice. In Florida alone, there will close to 60,000 job openings in the field of nursing by the year 2035.
In Florida, 27% of its population is estimated to be Hispanic or Latino, however, just around 15% of the nurses in the State are believed to be Hispanic. This leaves an opportunity to fill many of the current and future job openings in the field with qualified professionals from the Hispanic community.
In July of 2022, Keiser University partnered with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to create an advisory council that would tackle the growing need in the field. One major focus of this council was to create opportunities and career pathways specifically for Hispanic and Latino nurses. While Hispanic nurses throughout Florida continue answering the call by providing patient-centered care, the advisory council saw a need to continue to promote and advocate for educational, professional, and leadership opportunities for Hispanic nurses.
In addition to forming a statewide nursing taskforce, Keiser University recently launched a new Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree meant to help address Florida’s shortage in the field of women’s health. The new MSN program at Keiser University is currently the only women’s health Master’s program offered in Florida and comes at a critical time given the state’s growing nursing shortage. The program focuses on holistic healthcare, including women’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs from adolescence through childbearing and advanced years. The program encompasses gynecological care, pregnancy risk management, family planning, sexually transmitted disease infection diagnosis and treatment, and primary care to women.
In their 2022 Voices of Women survey, the Florida Commission on the Status of Women identified healthcare as a key issue of importance to Florida women. The new program addresses this issue head-on by seeking to overcome barriers to healthcare by providing preventive services for women. Preventive care is a critical need particularly in rural and underserved areas of Florida, where sometimes more than 50 percent of the population lives without a healthcare provider. Several studies by the Institutes of Medicine have shown that advanced-practice registered nurses who have full practice authority are able to deliver safe, cost-effective, high-quality care.
Florida has become the nation’s fastest-growing state, adding nearly 1,000 new residents every day. As this growth continues, so does the need for qualified healthcare providers and Keiser University’s commitment to meeting these healthcare workforce needs of the Sunshine State.
Keiser University has become one of Florida’s largest producers of nurses – graduating more than 3,200 since 2017 – and has been a leader in producing allied health graduates that make up the backbone of Florida’s healthcare system. The University is entirely committed to this role and will continue to answer the call by producing qualified healthcare graduates and advocating for opportunities for Hispanic students in healthcare majors.
(*) Lina is an education professional with a background in building curriculums that address labor market needs.
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