CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — The University of Northern Iowa will welcome its first group of nursing students in fall 2024. KCRG reports the college renovated its Innovative Teaching and Technology Center into nursing classrooms and labs. UNI said its new program comes as a response to the state of Iowa’s lack of nurses. All across the country, hospitals floors are closing, surgeries are delayed and people are waiting longer for care, due to a nursing shortage. UNI’s Executive Director of Nursing, Nancy Kertz, said there are about 8,000 positions for Registered Nurses [In Iowa] that are shown online.  UNI said it hopes to fill some of those positions when its students graduate the program.

The new space will provide students with hands-on experience. The new simulation labs feature simulator mannequins that are similar to real human patients. Their chests move when they breathe, blink, cough or even groan in pain. A camera in the labs will record a student’s performance as well, so they can review and improve their skills. The university hopes to not only teach the actual skills required for nursing but also help them develop their clinical judgement.

The construction of the nursing space has three phases. The first phase is complete, and the planning for the next phrase has started. UNI will rollout its nursing program gradually, bringing in about 25 students in fall 2024 and adding more each semester.