Ashley Bailey was just a few months into nursing school when the pandemic hit.
The next several months looked vastly different than she'd planned. The Hondros College of Nursing student hadn't expected to do her clinicals online through virtual clinical experiences — her nursing video game, as she calls it. With COVID-19 restrictions, bartending was no longer the reliable, flexible and lucrative option she'd expected to carry her through her collegiate journey.
But she didn't waver in her decision to become a nurse. If anything, she doubled down. Now a licensed practical nurse (LPN), Bailey took just three weeks off before continuing her coursework toward becoming a registered nurse (RN). Before the COVID-19 crisis, she'd planned a six- to 12-month break between the two, but the pandemic propelled her forward.
"I want to help people in a bigger capacity," said Bailey, who tends bar and works at an assisted living facility. "I want to get it done as fast as possible. … If you have a caring demeanor, if you enjoy helping people, there is nothing more rewarding than this field."
Among the five most common major fields for students pursuing an associate degree or undergraduate certificate, health professions and related clinical sciences programs fared the best in enrollment this spring, according to the latest numbers available from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Among bachelor's degree programs, psychology, computer and information sciences and support services, and education major students increased more than healthcare majors, which still saw growth this spring after a dip in spring 2020 compared with the year prior.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing released data that show student enrollment in baccalaureate, master's and doctoral nursing programs increased in 2020. Some of the growth follows trends of years prior, even as undergraduate enrollment struggled through the past year.
How much the pandemic, the spotlight on the role of healthcare workers, the economy and myriad other factors combined to influence these numbers is not clear, but Northeast Ohio schools are reporting growth in interest or slight decreases that fall within variations they've seen in previous years. Dips schools did see last year, if any, appear to be largely temporary, they say, as they look ahead to enrollment for the fall 2021.
At U.S. medical schools, the number of first-year students increased by 1.7% in the 2020 academic year, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The number of students applying to U.S. medical schools for 2021 nationally grew by nearly 18% compared with last year, according to AAMC data. This was astounding growth when compared with what had been reported in the decade prior, when year-over-year increases averaged fewer than 3%.
Until an additional AAMC survey collects more data, it's hard to say what drove the flood of applicants, said Dr. Lina Mehta, associate dean for admissions for Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.