EDINBURG, Texas — With health care workers on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, some are wondering if this could affect the number of students that choose to become nurses.
Officials with the UTRGV School of Nursing say they collected applications for the Fall semester before the pandemic began, but say the future impact could go either way.
“They are fearful to go into the hospitals. They are fearful to be around people who might have a communicable disease, and that will bring many people to the realization of what nurses really do, and maybe it is for them and maybe it is not,” says Sharon Radzyminski Dean, School of Nursing UTRGV.
Over at PSJA ISD Nursing School officials also say it’s too early to tell how the virus will impact numbers but say students are interested and asking questions on how they can help.
“A lot of questions as to ‘what can I do?’ Even as students, what can they do, what part can they play to help with this COVID-19?” says Sulema Solis, Director of Health Services, PSJA ISD.
Radzyminski says while the impact on the number of future nursing students is unknown, the virus will help students determine if nursing is something they want to do.
“But what I think it will do is make it very apparent that those who really choose the profession of nursing, they will be choosing for the right reasons.” says Radzyminski
Radzyminski says she has students ready to jump into the front lines.
