PCC preparing nursing students for jobs of the future [Video]

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The World Health Organization says by 2030, the world will have a shortage of healthcare workers, specifically nurses.

It’s a problem not lost on those already in the profession.

“There’s the aging population of people and there’s a huge need for nurses,” said Dr. Doris Lovata, a career nurse who now teaches hopeful nurses at Pima Community College. “Also, my generation of nurses will be retiring, so we need to fill those gaps in.”

She says many nurses are also leaving the profession due to burnout.

“To prepare them for the type of work that they’ll be doing is crucial,” she said. “So the basic foundation needs to be really, really set.”

At PCC, students begin training using virtual reality and simulations as early as their first semester.

“I got to use the defibrillator in real life on this gentlemen,” said Drew Cooper, gesturing to one …