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This year I learned that Keiser University is one of the top schools in the country for providing social, upward mobility to its students. The university consistently has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best in the nation and was named No. 1 in social mobility in 2023.
The school is taking steps to address the worsening nursing shortage in Florida, where it is projected that there will be a deficit of over 60,000 nurses by the mid-2030s. Keiser, which has close to two dozen campuses in Florida, as well as a robust Online Division, and serves 20,000 students is in the unique position to help address the coming workforce needs while providing students with the tools and education they need to develop fruitful careers.
To this end, Keiser University has partnered with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to establish the statewide nursing advisory council, a group made up of government officials, educational leaders, and healthcare industry experts who will collaborate to help address Florida’s nursing shortage problem. In fact, the council expects to announce their recommendations this month.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of registered nurses in the coming years which will result in a deficit of 130,000 nurses by 2025. Additionally, a recent report by the Florida Hospital Association, the state of Florida faces a dire nurse staffing shortage that will result in a nursing workforce deficit of 60,000 nurses by 2035.
“We hope to develop at least three or four recommendations that are practical in nature, that can be implemented, that can address head-on, different issues and challenges that will help alleviate the nursing shortage,” said Belinda Keiser, vice chancellor of Keiser University during a recent panel discussion with the group.
As a career-focused university with 21 Florida campuses, Keiser University is addressing the needs of Florida’s healthcare system and is a statewide leader in nursing and healthcare education. Last February, Keiser joined educators and healthcare workers from across the state to discuss the nursing shortage before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health & Human Services in a panel discussion led by then-chair Aaron Bean.
More than 3,000 nursing students have graduated from Keiser University since 2017 and the university recently launched a new Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree meant to address Florida’s nursing shortage in women’s health. At its campuses across the state, Keiser University has seen a rise in applications in its BSN, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) programs in the past year.
Keiser University received praise from the American Nurses Association (ANA) for taking initiative on solving the nursing shortage. ANA president Ernest Grant, PhD., RN, FAAN, said, “We must salute and applaud Keiser University for convening this nursing advisory council to help tackle the nursing shortage together we can make a difference.”
Because of Keiser’s work, the school has seen a rise in applications for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) as well as, Associate in Science in Nursing (ASN) programs. One of those applications belonged to Christopher Segarra, a Florida native who originally planned to join the military out of a deep motivation to help others. Unbeknownst to him, his girlfriend submitted an application to Keiser’s ASN program on his behalf.
Segarra is enrolled in the Associate of Science in Nursing program at Keiser University Tampa. His passion of caring for others, he said, was inspired by healthcare professionals who cared for his father, a military veteran of more than 20 years. Segarra often went to VA visits alongside his father. During those visits he witnessed the impact quality healthcare can have on patients.
“People don’t realize that it’s the small things that really do make an impact on people. If you just take a second and really care about the patient, in the long run your patient is going to be so much better,” Segarra said. “Every day I go to clinicals, and just knowing I made a patient happy, that I made their experience better being in the hospital just a little bit better, really puts a smile on my face.”
As he nears the end of his final semester of the ASN program, Segarra said the professors and resources at Keiser University Tampa have prepared him to step into a full-time career as a nurse.
As I learned more about his story, it became clear that this is a university that strives to address the needs of the students they serve as well as the communities they are a part of.
Unfortunately, there are countless higher ed institutions out there that are happy to charge students for a degree that will never help acquire gainful employment. Thankfully, Keiser University is not one of them. It’s time that elected officials get behind universities that help address labor shortages while ensuring that students develop the skills they need to succeed.
Lina Sierra is an education professional with over a dozen years of experience developing curriculum that addresses the needs of the labor market.
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