HARRISBURG, Pa. — It's been a long 16 months for graduate nurse Scarla Collado - She's one of more than three dozen students who are one step closer to becoming full-time, professional nurses.
"I'm just really proud of myself because nursing school is really hard," she said. "It's an accelerated program, so we missed out on a lot of things the last two years."
She began studying back in August of 2022 as part of the first group of students at the UMPC Harrisburg’s Shadyside School of Nursing. On Sunday, she traded turning textbook pages to turning her tassel.
"I feel like it's a wonderful field to be in," Collado said. "As a nurse, there's so much for us to do."
Though it was the first time the school held a commencement, it couldn't have come at a better time.
“There is definitely a need for nurses here in central Pa.," Program Director Dr. Penny Lenig-Zerby said. "We are here to fill the pipeline."
Over Dr. Lenig-Zerby's three-and-a-half decades in the profession, the demand for nurses has exploded.
"The degree of need has increased," she said. "Our patients are sicker. They require more critical thinking nurses, smarter nurses [and] more dedicated nurses. That's been a change."
A 2022 industry survey from The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) shows roughly 30% of positions for RNs providing direct care across Pa. are vacant. That's a 10% increase in three years, and it's only expected to grow.
HAP estimates the commonwealth could be short 20,000 nurses by 2026, if not for the hard work of students like Collado.
"It's tough. It's not for the faint of heart," Dr. Lenig-Zerby expressed. "We say you have to build your life around nursing school, you don't fit nursing school into your life."
That saying couldn't be more clear than in Collado's cheering section in the crowd Sunday. As her name was called and she received her diploma, her son let out an enthusiastic, "That's my mommy."
Collado says, like her son, she's proud of herself and the choice to take on the challenge of becoming a nurse.
"I'm happy that I'm going into a field that I’m needed in, and I'm gonna make a difference [for] all types of people," she said.
Of the 42 graduates, Dr. Lenig-Zerby stated that nearly 80% will begin their professional careers in the UPMC system.