INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — May is National Nurses Month – it is a time to thank healthcare workers and encourage people to work in the role, while highlighting the need for more nurses with a growing shortage. 

Dr. Jennifer Embree is the IU School of Nursing’s chief wellness officer and a clinical professor. She joined Daybreak on Monday to discuss the opportunities for future nurses.

IU began the Wellness Officer role in August of 2023 to emphasize the need to care for nurses. Embree said, “Dean Robin Newhouse felt that we needed to look at the staff, the faculty, and the students’ wellness and really be strategic about how we supported nurses.

“So, when they got into their workplace and when they went into the clinical settings, they were able to deal with all the things that happened. But they first were able to take care of themselves.”

Wellness came to light during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic led to burnout among nurses and exacerbated the dwindling workforce which was already expected to drop in numbers due to an aging population of nurses.

“In relation to the industry – things are tight,” Embree said. “We still need nurses. But we need nurses to first take care of themselves so that they’re able to take care of the public, take care of the patients. Nurses are everywhere. Every nurse is a leader because people are everywhere and so wherever they are, they do what they do as far as improving outcomes, improving health and well-being of the population and support people, wherever they need to be supported.”

According to the US Chamber of Commerce, there are 193,100 projected job openings for registered nurses (RNs) on average per year until 2032.

“The role is different for every nurse, Embree said. “It could be at the bedside, it could be in long-term care in acute care, in an outpatient setting, in a doctor’s office, they can do research, they could be a Chief Wellness Officer, they could lead associations, they could supply chain management, they could lead health systems. They are leaders and our nurses are all over the state, all over the Midwest, and really all over the world.”

IU offers a traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, an accelerated BSN program, RN to BSN, and graduate programs. IU’s program is said to be the top-ranked in Indiana and the only state school ranked in the top 50.

Learn more about IU’s Nursing School here.