Just a few months ago, I shared promising news about the state gaining ground amid a projected shortage of roughly 59,000 nurses by 2035. Ongoing support for nursing education, as well as strong partnerships between schools and healthcare organizations, have helped to shore up the numbers. While the state is not out of the woods yet, the University of South Florida just added its own fuel to the mounting progress.
In mid-August, the university opened its expanded USF Health College of Nursing, a facility designed to enhance training and strengthen the healthcare workforce across Florida. In fact, the college committed to graduating 500 more undergrads by 2028, a goal it’s on track to achieve.
According to USF, the school already graduates more nurses than any other institution in Florida and has the state’s largest nursing graduate program…