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WORTHINGTON, Minn. 鈥� Despite the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many changes it prompted for health care occupations, students are still determined to become nurses at Minnesota West Community & Technical College in Worthington.

鈥淲e are lucky. We have a little smaller program this year than normal, but that was something we had planned on,鈥� said Dawn Gordon, dean of science and nursing at the college.

As of Aug. 29, Minnesota West had about 64 students in its Licensed Practical Nursing program and another 64 in its Registered Nursing program, which often function as year one and year two of a student鈥檚 curriculum, often, but not always, followed by two additional years at a four-year school to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree.

鈥淲e could probably take a few more students based on community and health care work force demands,鈥� Gordon said, pointing out that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development ranked many health care occupations highly on its 鈥淥ccupations in Demand鈥� list.

In fact, as of Sept. 13, registered nurses were ranked top on the list, with a median wage of $81,947 per year and a projected 6.6% growth rate. And LPNs weren鈥檛 far behind, positioned as the 13th most in-demand occupation, with a $49,697 median wage and a 6.6% projected 10-year growth rate.

Because Minnesota West is a community college, it has a slightly different position than other nursing education institutions, Gordon said. 鈥淭he mission and vision of a community college is, we鈥檙e serving our community, and we could expand鈥� if the community needed it.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge need for nurses and nursing care workers,鈥� she added.

Home health and personal care aides ranked fourth on DEED鈥檚 list, with nursing assistance at fifth place.

The world was in a critical crisis of health care workers during the pandemic, Gordon said, and while recent graduations have helped alleviate some of the strain on workplaces such as hospitals and nursing homes, the crisis isn鈥檛 over yet.

鈥淲e still need additional health care workers鈥� in the region, she pointed out.

Over the years, Minnesota West has graduated 3,000 nurses, and currently its nursing programs are in Worthington, Granite Falls and Pipestone. Its LPN program is now 51 years old, and its RN program just graduated its 25th class.

鈥淪o that鈥檚 kind of fun for us. It鈥檚 fun to see the communities that have our Bluejay nurses sustaining their health care workforce,鈥� Gordon said.

Students who graduate from nursing programs are usually prepared to be generalist nurses, and at Minnesota West, they leave the program with a variety of experiences including acute and chronic care as well as well care, she explained.

Often those experiences come via the college鈥檚 clinical partners, who are key to the program鈥檚 success and help students get real-life nursing experience that informs their classroom work.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very fortunate that we have the support of all these areas in the community,鈥� Gordon said. 鈥淭hose experiences give our students an advantage.鈥�

鈥淭he pandemic taught us a lot too,鈥� she said.

Students got really good at putting on and removing personal protective equipment, but will also have a historical moment to look back on.

鈥淭he pillar of who we are is caring about the patient,鈥� Gordon said.