A nursing student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is raising concerns about how federal funding cuts and rising tuition costs could exacerbate the nursing shortage and impact patient care.
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"They're leaving us 22-year-old nurses to try to figure it out on their own, and that can kill people and they don't seem to care," said Grace Walsh, who is studying to become a Neuro ICU nurse at UNMC Lincoln.
Walsh reached out after seeing my previous report on the nursing shortage. She was inspired to pursue healthcare by her aunts, who are both nurses, and by family members with disabilities. She wants to provide quality care to patients like them but worries about her ability to do so under current conditions.
"There's no support, there's no support," Walsh said.
Students at UNMC learn on mannequins, practicing skills like taking pulses and checking for dilated pupils. However, Walsh reports that much of this critical training equipment is in disrepair.
"They're so incredibly expensive and most of ours are broken. So you go into one room, oh well, you can't get a pulse on that patient. Here's the pulse we're just gonna give it to you," Walsh said.
Walsh's concerns extend beyond equipment issues. Her tuition has increased by 8%, rising by $1,000, while new borrowing caps approved in recent legislation are forcing students to make difficult financial decisions.
"I know a lot of nursing students that are taking out loans that they don't need right now so that they can put that money into savings for NP school when they go directly after because they don't know what it's gonna look like," Walsh said.
UNMC has announced 4% cuts across all their systems. A spokesperson told me they're "Exploring strategic reallocation of research infrastructure costs to ensure the university, including its cutting-edge research initiatives, can continue to provide breakthroughs."
Walsh emphasized that the nursing shortage should be a priority for state representatives because an overworked nurse could mean the difference between life and death for patients.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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