St. Mary’s School of Nursing working to combat nursing shortage

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A nursing school in West Virginia is working on a local solution for a nationwide issue.

The St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Huntington is helping future nurses develop their skills, that in turn can be applied directly.

“There is a need and we want to make sure we can fulfill that need of providing quality health care, and to do that we need quality health care professions,” Chief Operating Officer Angie Swearinger said.

The school partners with Marshall University to offer a two-year, associate degree nursing program. Once the program is complete, students are eligible to apply for a test, that if passed, gives them a license to practice as a registered nurse.

By giving students health-care repetitions with hyper realistic mannequins, administrators say they hope to provide skills that will translate to the work force.

“Evidence research shows us the more exposure we have, the more likely we are to remember it,” nursing instructor Heather Streets said.

The school has graduated more than 4,000 students since its inception in 1926.

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