Eskens worked in a nursing home as the novel coronavirus spread around the world. When lockdowns prevented residents from seeing their family members, Eskens became “their person to lean on.”

“That kind of told me that I was going on the right path,” said the Wynot, Nebraska, native, who began studying nursing at St. Luke’s College in the fall of 2021. 

Data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing revealed that student enrollment in baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral nursing programs increased in 2020 in spite of concerns that interest in nursing careers might decrease amid the difficult circumstances of the pandemic. Entry-level baccalaureate programs recorded an enrollment increase of 5.6%, while master’s programs saw enrollment rise by 4.1% and doctor of nursing practice programs by 8.9%.

Matt Thomsen, vice president of enrollment management for Briar Cliff University, said nursing is one of the Sioux City college’s top four programs. He said BCU saw roughly a 9% increase in undergraduate students who chose to enroll in nursing from fall 2020 and fall 2021, while enrollment in graduate level nursing increased by 2% across the board, during that timeframe. BCU offers BSN, RN to BSN, doctor of nursing practice and nurse practitioner programs. 

“Our biggest message is that we need more people to pursue this major. The need is great within our community,” Thomsen said. “We need more clinical placement opportunities and we need more preceptors, which are the nursing professionals in the field who then mentor our nursing students.”

Shannon Merk, associate dean of nursing for St. Luke’s College, said the enrollment in the college’s associate of science in nursing program has “stayed consistent,” she said its RN to BSN program, which is completely online, peaked and, then, plateaued. 

“The pandemic, while it highlighted nurses, there’s other professions that are very important, such as our respiratory therapists. Our respiratory therapy program has actually seen an increase in enrollment probably because of the pandemic, because there was such a need,” she said. “It takes a village to take care of one patient. It’s not just about nursing. It’s about the whole team coming together and collaborating for that patient’s outcome.”

Just last year, BCU signed signed an articulation agreement with St. Luke’s College, which allows students to pursue a bachelor’s degree in respiratory care. The respiratory care partnership is structured similarly to BCU and St. Luke’s College’s partnership for the radiologic technology and medical laboratory sciences programs.

“The outlook is very strong, actually, throughout all of health care, right now, but nursing in particular,” Thomsen said. “Health care administration is another one that it needs more people in it.” 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nursing is listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2029. The RN workforce is expected to grow from 3 million in 2019 to 3.3 million in 2029, a 7% increase. Some 175,900 openings for RNs are projected each year through 2029, as retirements and other workforce exits are factored into the number of nurses needed in the country. 

“Graduates have been able to seek employment since before the pandemic. Even with the pandemic, there’s employment opportunities out there everywhere,” Merk said. “That’s really the beauty of nursing. There are so many entry points to start your career, whether that be hospital, clinic, nursing home, school nurses. I always tell my students, ‘If you wanted to work on a cruise ship as a nurse, you could.'” 

Eskens said her “dream job” is working in a labor and delivery unit or neonatal intensive care unit. 

“Something with pediatrics and infants and women’s health, for sure,” she said. “That area is special to me because I was the youngest child. So, I always grew up with people supporting me throughout the younger years. I want to be that version of support for struggling families.” 

Merk said resilience is a key characteristic for today’s nurses to have. She said they need a combination of grit, professionalism and the ability to “roll with the times.” 

“I think there’s always going to be a few that come into nursing and decide, ‘This isn’t really what I had determined for my life.’ Sometimes, that’s due to family influence,” she said. “It doesn’t happen often. I can only think of one student in my history being here 10 years that chose a different career afterwards. Most of time, you actually see other careers flipping into nursing, especially teachers.”