A growing nursing shortage continues to raise concern among the medical community. The shortage of nurses in Northeast Ohio is expected to increase from 750 to 3,500 in 2020, according to a nursing forecaster released by The Center for Health Affairs.
Ursuline College has set up a program is called STTEP UP. It stands for, Scholastic Tools in Teens for Educational Performance.
“We don’t just have female patients, we have male patients, African-American patients,” said Noel Santa-Ziembecki, Program Coordinator.
Santa-Ziembecki said many classes are filled with women. In Ohio, men only make up about 9 percent of the profession. Jacob Black is one of the few male nursing students in his classes at Ursuline College.
“I like it so far,” Black said. “Some patients may prefer a male nurse over a female nurse. I hope to become a pediatric oncology nurse. Nursing is very service-oriented, and I enjoy helping people.”
