South Carolina Is Spending $30 Million to Head Off a Nursing Crisis -- Here Is Why Biomedical Science Students Are Part of the Solution

South Carolina's nursing workforce arithmetic is not complicated, but it is alarming. By 2036, the state is projected to need more than 13,600 registered nurses it will not have -- a supply gap that leaves roughly one in five positions unfilled, according to federal Health Resources and Services Administration data released in early 2024. The shortage is being driven by a retirement wave, slow enrollment growth at nursing schools, and a demographic shift toward an older population: South Carolina expects more than 1.5 million residents aged 65 and older by 2035, up approximately 300,000 from 2024 levels.

The state legislature's response is $30 million over three years -- $10 million annually split between nursing professor salary support ($5 million) and loan forgiveness for nurses who return to school to become nursing educators ($5 million). The University of South Carolina and Lexington Medical cut the ribbon in August 2024 on a $20 million training center near the Lexington County campus, and USC's Columbia program now admits 300 nursing bachelor's degree students annually, up from 200 previously. The Medical University of South Carolina offers 20% tuition assistance to in-state technical college graduates and hospital employees pursuing nursing degrees.

None of these investments work without a high school pipeline feeding students into nursing programs. That is where South Carolina's Biomedical Science pathway becomes structurally important. Students in this pathway study human body systems, disease processes, medical diagnostics, and biomedical innovation through a four-course sequence that builds the scientific foundation colleges use to evaluate nursing school readiness. Credentials available through the pathway include Certified Nursing Assistant, CPR/AED for Healthcare Providers, Medical Terminology Certification, and Emergency Medical Technician -- the exact credentials that appear in South Carolina's new stackable credential framework as entry points into the health science cluster.

The labor market numbers for pathway graduates are clear. Registered nurses in South Carolina earn a median of $79,900. Licensed Practical Nurses reach $59,050. Medical laboratory technicians -- a more directly biomedical role -- earn $52,400 in the state. The Trident Medical Center has already formalized partnerships with Tri-County high schools to build hands-on learning opportunities that move students from secondary CTE into healthcare employment.

For districts weighing where to concentrate CTE investment, the nursing shortage data provides a rare combination of certainty and scale: a documented workforce gap, sustained state funding to address it, and a clearly articulated role for secondary pathways in filling the pipeline. Biomedical Science students who graduate with strong academic preparation, one or more stackable credentials, and clinical experience through work-based learning partnerships enter postsecondary nursing programs with tangible advantages -- and into a labor market where South Carolina employers have every reason to compete aggressively for their time.