NEWSMYRNABEACHCONCRETE

Health systems and universities are increasingly offering externship programs to help nursing students gain practical experience before graduation.

Sharon (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, part of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, will close a 125-year-old nursing school after the current class of students graduates next May, according to a news release sent to local news outlets. 

The Women’s Hospital of Texas, part of HCA Houston Healthcare, is ready to hire nurses affected by the layoffs at Texas Children’s Hospital, the HCA hospital’s chief nursing officer said in an Aug. 7 post on LinkedIn. 

So far this year, nurses have been included in job reductions at Optum and two hospitals. 

Editor’s note: This letter to the editor is in response to the article, “The Miseducation of America’s Nurse Practitioners,” published by Bloomberg. It has been lightly edited.