She remembers waiting lists to get into a program. "I've wanted to be a nurse as long as I can remember. I was five years old, when I spent nearly a month in the hospital because of a bad case of pneumonia. I felt so connected to the nurses, they were such great people," she remembered.

They were the last class to start in a normal school setting, January of 2020. The pandemic forced much of their work online. Still, they made it through, and know they are needed now more than ever.

Sarah Kolle has been hired on at Miller Dwan, and starts in February. "It's a little intimidating, running up hill as I hit the ground. But I think it's a good time to jump on and help fellow nurses and help the community," she said.

Senator Amy Klobuchar told a roundtable group that Minnesota is facing a shortage of 30,000 nurses. "We need to encourage more people to go into nursing with scholarships and loan repayments." Those two things are in a bill she's working on in the U.S. Senate.

She's spent a lot of time with nurses in the past year getting treatment for breast cancer. "I worked with so many hardworking nurses. They were pulling double shifts. And they'd tell me how hard it is when the emergency room and ICU beds get filled up," Klobuchar added.

To watch the original report and read related articles, follow this link to the WDIO-TV website. https://www.wdio.com/news/nursing-school-students-graduation-pandemic-care-patients-shortage-health-...