Sun Sentinel: Solve Florida’s nursing shortage | Opinion
For 23 years, nursing has been ranked the most trustworthy profession. While this recognition is humbling and well-deserved, it stands in sharp contrast to another reality: Nurses continue to face unprecedented levels of burnout, stress and fatigue.
In fact, more than one-third of nurses are considering a career change within the next year — an alarming trend for Florida, where current projections show a need for an additional 59,000 nurses by 2035. Addressing this impending shortage and lack of adequate support for nurses requires rethinking the way we approach nursing education, compensation and overall well-being.
Unfortunately, many new nurses leave their programs without adequate hands-on experience and confidence, putting pressure on experienced nurses to mentor novices without additional compensation for training. This creates a vicious cycle where both new and experienced nurses are under-resourced, contributing to the fact that 18% of newly licensed nurses are leaving the profession within their first year. But the attrition rate — and therefore, the satisfaction rate — could be alleviated if nurses entered the workforce with more intentional training and support.
New training models at institutions like the University of Florida are integrating the clinical and educational worlds for the mutual benefit of both new and experienced nurses. This involves pairing each nursing student with an experienced nurse preceptor from day one — an approach that builds clinical confidence early while honoring the vital role of bedside nurses in education.