Jersey Proud: Middlesex College celebrates largest nursing graduating class in years
Seventy-three nursing graduates completed the program as New Jersey faces a projected shortage of nurses in the coming decade.
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Middlesex College celebrated its largest graduating nursing class in seven years, with 73 graduates preparing to enter the workforce.
The graduates were honored during a traditional nursing pinning ceremony, a milestone event in which nursing students receive their nursing pins before beginning their careers.
The achievement comes as New Jersey faces a projected nursing shortage that ranks among the five highest in the nation. Projections indicate the state could have 25,000 fewer nurses than needed within the next 10 years.
Experts attribute the shortage in part to what is often called the "silver tsunami" - a growing population of older adults requiring medical care, combined with a wave of retirements among experienced nurses. Many of those retiring nurses are not being replaced quickly enough by younger workers entering the profession.
The 73 new graduates are expected to help meet the growing demand for nurses in New Jersey and beyond as they begin their careers following graduation in Edison.
