The number of vacant nursing jobs in Florida has climbed since 2013, and the state is expected to need an additional 10,000 new registered nurses by the end of this year.
To meet this growing demand for registered nurses, Valencia College officials are working with other state colleges, the University of Central Florida and local hospital systems to come up with ways to expand the nursing education programs.
Those include possibly teaching nursing courses at hospitals — where non-nursing employees, such as technicians — could earn a nursing degree, and possibly adding night and weekend classes.
The Orlando Sentinel recently reported on the nursing shortage. Read more about it here.