JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The number of nurses in Missouri has been steadily decreasing since the pandemic, and a new class of nursing students graduating this month are expected to help Missouri hospitals.
Over 1,700 students are receiving their diplomas from the University of Missouri this weekend. About 140 of them are nursing students, who will enter a turbulent post-pandemic workforce.
Christian Birtell is a nursing student at the University of Missouri, but not for much longer. He graduates Saturday morning, and then he’ll start his full-time nursing career.
But he knows it won’t be easy.
“There’s a lot of unknowns in the field of nursing, especially right now, but I go in everyday and try to do my best,” Birtell said.
Combated with a difficult job, nurses experience burnout, exhaustion and even PTSD, leading to many leaving the job quickly.
The turnover and vacancy rates for nurses in Missouri is just starting to reach pre-pandemic …