Labor shortage causes 172 Maryland nursing students to graduate early after governor announces 'early exit' request

• 172 nursing students at the University of Maryland will graduate early due to the labor shortage.
• Health officials say the state's nurse shortage is the worst they've seen in four decades.

172 nursing students at the University of Maryland will graduate early to help ease the state's "critical shortage" of medical staff. Students scheduled to graduate on December 23 may complete their studies as early as November 19, according to the school website.

The University of Maryland School of Nursing Dean Jane M. Kirschling said the early-exit option is being offered in response to a September request from Gov. Larry Hogan (R) that asked schools to "create pathways for nursing students to complete their program of study in an accelerated manner."

"We want to be clear about what exactly early exit is and is not. Early exit is not a change in the curriculum. All learning outcomes, course objectives, and program outcomes must be preserved," the request explained. "We must maintain that the nursing field is of high-quality and that students are aptly prepared to enter into the workforce."

Maryland's nurse shortage is the worst staffing challenge health officials have seen in 40 years, 11 News reported last month. Across the country, nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic have suffered from PTSD, burnout, and exhaustion, causing many to switch jobs or leave the industry entirely.

"The stress of working in a COVID ICU, and all the death that I've had to see, altogether, it has really set me back; I'm often very anxious, and angry," Sarah Chan, a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in New York, told Insider's Allana Akhtar. "So much death weighs heavy on me."

This is the fourth time The University of Maryland's School of Nursing has implemented its early-exit program. Rutgers University in New Jersey, University of Vermont, Towson University, University of Toledo, and Montana State University have also allowed nursing students to graduate ahead of schedule to join the pandemic workforce, Nurse.org reported.

"We are committed to continuing to partner with Maryland's health care systems to support them in meeting the needs of our state," Kirschling said. "... our early-exit option has been a vital source of new nursing graduates for Maryland's nursing workforce as area facilities continue to grapple with the ramifications of the pandemic."