Mega Doctor News
This past week, a cohort of Laredo College nursing staff and students visited the Texas Capitol to speak up about their concerns throughout their field, including the current nursing shortage impacting the state. There were four other major issues that were highlighted in the discussions, including education, workplace safety, student health and the removal of barriers.
Thirteen Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program students and three Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Program students joined over 500 Texas nurses and nursing students to speak to their respective state representatives. Chelsea Morgensen, ADN student and Student Nurses Association vice president, was among those who spoke with Senator Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Richard Peña Raymond to advocate for improvements in the four major areas of concern.
“While there, we learned about the statistical data showing the deficit Texas is experiencing in supply and demand when it comes to the number of nurses we have vs. the number of nurses that are needed, and unfortunately that number shows a drastic increase in deficit within the next 10 years,” she said. “Some of the bills that were mentioned that we were rallying for were providing scholarships to registered nurses to further their education, preventing violence in the workplace and free healthcare for students, as well as removing barriers so nurse practitioners can have full practice authority, APRNs can have schedule II prescriptive authority and CRNAs can have the authority to provide dental anesthesia.”
Morgensen was joined by Norma Martinez, registered nurse and Laredo College BSN student, who shared the same sentiments of improving the lives of our treasured nursing staff and health sciences students throughout the state.
“This spectacular event allowed me to network with fellow nurses from many different specialty areas and at various stages of their careers,” Martinez said. “Yet, we all had similar concerns and issues, including violence in the workplace, the nursing shortage, continuing education and more funding for nursing education. Nurses’ Day at the capitol was a truly sublime experience, and I will try to continue attending the biyearly event. There is power in numbers, and nurses have an immense impact on our community and deserve to be heard.”
Laredo College continues to encourage and advocate for our students to speak up about their concerns and futures.
