BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s how important our healthcare workers truly are. And those countless acts of selflessness have inspired others to get involved.
Buffalo’s Troicare College, which offers programs such as nursing and healthcare management, is seeing an increase in the number of students who want to enter the health care field.
“These programs are always popular, but I also think particularly during this time in COVID, and during the pandemic, the increase suggests perhaps a heightened awareness of the demand for healthcare workers during these times,” Chief Enrollment Officer at Trocaire Mollie Ballaro said.
She said last semester, enrollment was up 7 percent.
“And I think it speaks to the fact that they truly are heroes wanting to step up during the most difficult of times that we can think of in modern history,” Ballaro said.
In fact, the Association of American Medical Colleges said the number of medical school applicants in 2020 was up 18 percent over the year before.
“Now more than ever we need all the help and heart and dedication to be in the healthcare field and I wanna be part of the difference,” nursing student at Trocaire Shelby Przybysz said.
Przybysz joined Trocaire as a nursing student right before the pandemic began.
“I actually was inspired by my mother. She’s a nurse she works at Hospice.”
But since studying to become a nurse in the midst of a global pandemic, she’s felt even more inspired to make a difference.
"There’s certainly no shortage of demand, so we certainly can use them stepping up the plate," Ballaro said.
