Fighting for Future Nurses

Faculty at the UNC School of Nursing had been watching the story unfold since late December. They knew it was coming, and that nurses would be leading efforts to contain and treat it.

Nearly 200 future nurses at Carolina were completing the clinical hours they needed to enter the workforce when the coronavirus pandemic made its way to the United States.

“Our first priority was getting the students to graduate on time,” said Louise Fleming, Ph.D., MSN-Ed, R.N., assistant dean for undergraduate programs and division at UNC Nursing. “These future nurses have worked hard and prepared, and we wanted the seniors to graduate and go where they’re needed.”

“North Carolina is facing a grave nursing shortage. Now more than ever, we feel our responsibility as a school to get our exceptionally well-prepared students out in the workforce, to help with this current crisis and to care for patients and caregivers in need,” said Nena Peragallo Montano, dean of UNC Nursing.

Read the complete Carolina Story…

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