ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Nurses are part of the backbone in hospitals and there’s a critical shortage of them in Florida. The University of South Florida plans to help add more future nurses to the workforce by expanding its four-year nursing program to its St. Petersburg campus.
The backstory:
You can learn skills for patient care, but the drive and desire for nursing doesn’t come from a classroom.
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“I really love working in health care and when I got to shadow a facility and saw what the nurses do in a rehab and nursing home, I just fell in love with it,” said Gabriela Alvarez, a nursing student at USF St. Petersburg.
Alvarez is a first-year student in the USF St. Peterburg’s accelerated two-year nursing program. She previously earned her bachelor’s degree at USF in biomedical science. Her second month into the 16-month program, she’s learning fast in the program’s Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation and at hospitals.
“I actually got my first clinical round on a neuro floor, so I got to see how to do a stroke evaluation,” said Alvarez.
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What we know:
A two-year fast track program is no longer enough at USF St. Petersburg. The campus will offer a four-year nursing program to students starting in fall 2026.
“Now we get to start with them from the jump where they’re fresh, and they’re right out of high school, and so I think that’s probably the biggest change,” said Allyson Duffy, the pathway director for pre-licensure nursing at USF St. Petersburg & Sarasota.
Duffy said the campus recently hosted more than 100 Pinellas County high school students last week.
“We were able to show those students ‘look, you’re walking distance away from these major hospital systems where you can really get that great experience,’” said Duffy.
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What students learn prepares them to take the National Certification Licensure Exam (NCLEX). They must pass the exam to become registered nurses and start working.
“The NCLEX did change a little in how they’re assessing that clinical judgment. And so, we also had to do that in our curriculum,” said Duffy.
By the numbers:
Florida’s 2024 first-time pass rate for NCLEX exam was 84.9%, below the national average of 91%, according to a report from the Florida Center for Nursing.
Duffy said USF’s pass rates are well above that – at 97%. Every new nurse added to Florida’s workforce is needed.
“By 2035 you know the estimate is about 59,000 nurses that we’re going to be short in the state of Florida, and so that’s why we’re going to continue to do what we can to help support that,” said Duffy.
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What they’re saying:
Alvarez said she feels set up for success to start a career in nursing.
“I feel like I have found my sense and my purpose. A lot of people spend a lot of time trying to find what they want to do, and it’s super fulfilling when I get to know that I’m going to be able to put that into practice and do what I love and what I want to,” said Alvarez, who wants to work in the geriatrics specialty.
The program director said they hope the new four-year program attracts people invested in staying in St. Petersburg or Pinellas County. USF partners with area hospitals like Bayfront Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital to help teach their students.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo.