Maryland health systems are again tapping nursing students to help out on the COVID-19 frontlines amid a surge in hospitalizations, reports The Washington Post.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is urging colleges and universities to allow nursing students who are in their final semester and have satisfied their graduation requirements to leave their programs early and help fill staffing shortages at hospitals.
About 60 students from Towson (Md.) University and 138 from the University of Maryland School of Nursing in College Park have met enough requirements to leave their programs early. The students are able to practice without a nursing license during the pandemic due to a state of emergency declaration issued in March.
This spring, Mr. Hogan also called on nursing and medical schools to allow some students to enter the workforce early.
As of Dec. 28, the state reported 1,738 COVID-19 hospitalizations, up from about 520 hospitalizations in early November, according to state data.