The search for new nurses has left many hospitals looking high and low for recruits. In El Paso, TX, they don’t need to look far at all.

A new program at El Paso Community College is turning paramedics, who already have an existing medical knowledge base, into RNs. There are 27 students enrolled in the first class that expects to bolster the low numbers of nurses in the area. Experts estimate that nearly 400 new nursing positions will be created in the city in 2008 alone.

The program is designed with a paramedic’s unusual schedule in mind, as much of the coursework is offered online. To further help the students, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grade, a workforce development board, is providing $154,000 in scholarships.

Sources: El Paso (TX) Times and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation