16 students begin CNA training in Lincoln as Nebraska deals with nursing shortage

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Sixteen students started their certified nursing assistant training in Lincoln on Monday — a step that could help address the state’s nursing shortage.

From learning how to safely transfer patients to taking vitals to offering emotional support, the lessons were just the beginning for these future caregivers.

Officials hope the end result is more workers in a critical field.

Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said the nursing shortage is a problem that grows by the day.

“When we talk to our hospitals across the state, workforce shortages — and specifically nursing shortages — are among the most biggest problems they’re facing,” he said.

The Nebraska Health Care Learning Center, where the CNA training is being held, said it’s seeing an uptick in interest from both from young people and from adults looking for a second career.

Connie Siefkes, a registered nurse and learning manager at the center, said CNAs help bridge the gap to better serve Nebraska seniors.

“It is a hard job,” she said. “And it’s also a very emotionally difficult job because you’re working with people sometimes up until the end of their life. But although that is the hard part of the job, it’s also the most rewarding part of the job.”

Shali McCright, one student in the CNA training, said she eventually wants to become an endocrinologist, in part because she has Type 1 diabetes.

But the 16-year-old said it’s about more than getting her foot in the door for a career.

“I had a grandpa that was in and assisted living, and that was kind of also an inspiration to me,” she said. “Just to be part of treating other people’s grandparents the same way.”