The nursing shortage in Pennsylvania is causing concern for health care professionals and… The nursing shortage in Pennsylvania is causing concern for health care professionals and state legislators, as the aging Baby Boomer population increases with a longer life expectancy.

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency with the American Education Services launched an initiative on Feb. 21 at the Latrobe Area Hospital to address the nursing shortage in Pennsylvania.

The PHEAA/AES program, in conjunction with employer-sponsored programs, will forgive up to $12,500 or 25 percent of an eligible student loan principle. Pitt’s nursing school also offers scholarships, government funding and private scholarships to assist a student’s financial needs.

The executive director of Student Services for Pitt’s School of Nursing, Jackie Lever, said she is aware of the shortage. However, the nursing school is unable to increase enrollment at this time without jeopardizing the quality of education.

Lever said, “there has been a significant increase in the number of applicants and they are working hard to recruit the best and brightest students as possible.”

The objective of the PHEAA/AES program is to increase the number of students enrolling in and graduating from approved nursing programs, as well as encouraging licensed practical nurses to earn registered nursing degrees and increase the numbers of nurses attending graduate school to replace retiring educators.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has competitive benefits to attract and retain nurses, according to the UPMC nursing Web site. Nurse refresher courses are provided along with a prorated tuition assistance program for full-time and part-time nurses at the University for spouses and dependants.

A survey by the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association cited a 40-percent decline in the number of people who choose nursing as a profession in the Keystone state. Nationwide there are 126,000 vacancies in the nursing field with 90 percent of nursing homes short of staff.

In Pennsylvania, there are 190,000 licensed registered nurses, but only 123,000 work in nursing. Another survey by Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania cited an 11-percent vacancy rate in Pennsylvania hospitals for nurses.

Pitt’s nursing school seniors Sarah Faught and Jessica Blackburn were hired after on-the-spot interviews during a nursing job fair in the fall of 2002.

A recruiter from Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas, hired Faught to work in the neuro-trama intensive care unit after graduation. The Montefiore Hospital Pittsburgh hired Blackburn and she will work in the medical intensive care unit in the Oakland hospital.

Both Faught and Blackburn chose Pitt’s nursing school for the quality of education and the respected ranking the school maintains nationally. Faught plans to attend a nursing graduate school with an anesthesia program in the near future.