By Della Turner, San Diego

Della Turner is a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos.

Re “Nurse shortages in California reaching crisis point”; Coronavirus, Aug. 26, 2021

Long before I decided to move into nursing as a second career, during pre-pandemic times, I have been hearing about nursing shortages and how it’s just going to get worse as nurses decide to retire. 

COVID-19 was understandably the breaking point for far more than retiring nurses. As a nursing student, set to graduate in May 2022, I have seen the effects that COVID has had on the nursing staff. The impression can be bleak, but I find myself biting at the bit to be able to finally graduate, enter the workforce and help those who have sacrificed so much during this time.

It’s certainly a naïve perspective. What do I know about what it’s like to be a nurse during the pandemic? But I’d rather start my nursing career believing that there can be post-traumatic growth that includes policy changes for the better and know that I can be one more addition to the burnt out nursing pool.