The Health Resources and Services Administration predicts that by 2028, there will be a nursing shortage of over 267,000 nurses in the United States, with the state of South Carolina fourth in that projected shortfall.
Betternurse.org says rural areas are projected to face larger shortages than metropolitan areas.
Dr. Kandi Valentine, dean of Galen School of Nursing in Myrtle Beach, said local nursing schools are doing everything they can to make a dent in that shortage.
Galen, along with Horry-Georgetown Technical College and Coastal Carolina University, are the Horry County colleges that provide nursing degrees from an associate to bachelor’s degrees.
Valentine said a number of reasons have led to the nursing shortage.
The Galen College of Nursing in Myrtle Beach.
“Since the Covid pandemic, 100,000 nurses have left the field,” she said. “The pandemic presented unprecedented demands on nursing staffs. The stress of dealing with so many sick patients and having to work extra-long shifts just burned them out.”
Other reasons for the need for more nurses are even more practical. Valentine said many of medical facility nurses are nearing retirement age.
The HRSA says nearly 50% of the current nursing workforce is over the age of 50. These nurses are moving into positions that call for less stressful situations and shorter hours.
Nurse.com says a 2026 report showed 24% of nurses in 2025 considered leaving the profession. The research says 60% of the survey respondents said they were always feeling “overwhelmed” with over 50% expressing “burnout.”
Much of those feelings were caused by insufficient staffing that increases their stress levels.
Another reason is there is a shortage of faculty members in nursing schools across the country which means the schools cannot take in as many new students.
Valentine says she was in nursing and went back to get her doctorate in order to become a teacher.
The U.S. Census Bureau says the nation’s population aged 65 and older is expected to increase to 82 million which is 23% of the total population. This means there will be a need for increased geriatric care and more patients with chronic diseases.
The nationwide shutdown during COVID forced nursing schools to resort to other methods for instruction.
Teaching tools at the Galen College of Nursing.
“Learning had to pivot to online,” Valentine explained. “We had to resort to more simulations and case-studies instead of in-person patient care. The state still had specific requirements for new nurses and this hampered their clinicals.”
She said deans from all over the state work together to come up with the best learning environments.
Valentine says today’s nursing students have to come out of school and “hit the ground running.” She explained that with so many procedures being done as outpatient services, patients that nurses encounter that are actually confined in hospitals are overall sicker than they used to be.
“We know we need to help with their confidence and critical thinking skills,” she said. “Because they’re taking care of sicker patients these days, the quality of nurses needs to be higher.”
She added that even with use of simulators and AI instruction, “there’s no replacing that human touch.”
With the shortage that still exists, Valentine says Galen has a 100% job placement for its graduates. She said there are so many areas of nursing that students can enter including various specialties in hospitals, nursing homes, private practice, schools, in-home care and traveling nurse opportunities.
Galen has almost 500 students enrolled in its Myrtle Beach campus. Valentine said their new students come from a variety of backgrounds.
“Probably 20-30% of new students are entering nursing as a second career,” she said. “Many decide they want to be nurses after working as EMS personnel or other medical-related fields. Our average age is 36.”
Valentine added there is a huge collaboration among hospitals and the colleges in the community to provide nursing training opportunities. Galen is located adjacent to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center but they also work with other medical facilities.
She said she is always visiting local schools trying to recruit and encourage younger students to take a look at the nursing profession.
“I try to let them know that nursing has made such a positive impact on my life,” Valentine said. “Nursing education is a way to show them how to be happy in nursing 30 years later.”
She points out to prospective students that the nursing schools are working to provide an environment that takes into consideration a viable school and life-work schedule. She also points out the many avenues that a nurse can take in their career.
Hospitals are recognizing the causes of the nursing shortage, Valentine said, by keeping salaries competitive and looking to offering 8-hour shifts instead of the traditional 12-hour ones.
Valentine says she takes great pride in seeing her former students in actual working situations.
“I love to go into hospitals and see our graduates doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing and doing it with a caring smile on their face,” she said.
She said seeing their students succeeding is what she goes to work for every day.
“I just want to die, quit or retire by making a difference in nursing care,” Valentine said. “I’m proud to say I’m a nurse.”
