May 23, 2013
The nursing shortage around the country has many hospitals scrambling to fill open positions. Now, a local legislator is leading a proposal to start a program that trains returning and retiring soldiers for some of those open spots.
Assemblyman Rob Kreibich is partnering with the state's Veteran's Affairs and the University of Wisconsin officials to propose a program called "Soldiers to Nurses," using the "Soldiers to Teachers" program as a template.
"Soldiers bring back skills that are very adaptable in other professions," says Kreibich. "We thought that worked so well given the nursing shortage, given that Wisconsin ranks 49th in federal funding, given that we need more males in the nursing profession, this really solves a lot of problems."
UW-Eau Claire is expected to be part of the pilot program, and officials there say the program would not only help train nursing students, but also new faculty.
