SAN ANTONIO — The population growth in Texas is highlighting staffing shortages in health care. The Alamo Colleges District is training nurses from Mexico to fill the need. 

“I wanted to be a nurse to help people,” said Hilda Lizeth. “Ever since I was very young, I always knew I wanted to help everyone.”

Lizeth has been a nurse in Mexico for a few years. The 26-year-old’s father was her first patient.

“The same year I entered into nursing school, my dad got sick,” Lizeth said.

Graduation was bittersweet. He passed away in February, and Lizeth got her nursing degree soon after.

“Kind of emotional because I wish he was here,” Lizeth said. 

Her dream has become a reality.

“I always wanted to work in the United States and my dad knew it,” Lizeth said. “My dad always knew that I wanted to go outside, explore the world.”

Lizeth is one of 20 students enrolled in the International Nursing Pathway, a new cross border partnership between Alamo Colleges District and Tecmilenio, a university in Mexico.

“Really, a pathway where a professional from another country can complete certain blocks of education that are needed and required and recommended for them to complete before they can practice a profession in the U.S.,” said Alejandra Bueno, Alamo College District International Programs executive director. 

According to the state’s Department of Health Services, by 2032 the demand for nurses will grow by nearly 40%, leaving the Texas nursing workforce with more than 57,000 open positions.  

“It helps alleviate those workforce gaps that may be across the region,” Bueno said. “The beauty of this pathway is that it shows us that it can be replicated in other sectors.”

Bueno says once students complete six months of coursework, they become eligible for work visas. They’ve established a pipeline with Methodist Healthcare to bring these nurses to Texas.

Lizeth looks forward to working in labor and delivery. Although the pathway program is partnering with nurses from Mexico, Alamo Colleges has plans to open the virtual course to nurses in Latin America in the future. 

“If you have an opportunity to get in the program, believe me, take it,” Lizeth said.