School of Nursing

More than 500 students is a new record

Isabelle Steiner worked in sales for 16 years. She is now studying at the provincial clinics to switch to healthcare.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

There is good news in Salzburg in these times of nursing crisis. Salzburg's nursing school is more in demand than ever this year. A transfer student names the advantages, but also the hurdles of the training on offer in Salzburg. 

Dozens of cheerful men and women stream out of the lecture hall at the provincial hospitals for the big break. They come from a wide range of professions, from workshop manager to hairdresser to sales clerk.

The group that has been training here since Monday has a common goal. All of the 50 or so people want to enter the healthcare sector. Isabelle Steiner represents a completely new training course in Salzburg. For the first time, there is a course to become an X-ray assistant.

Prospect of fulfilling work
The 35-year-old worked in retail for 16 years, mainly in equestrian sports retail. "Customers have changed. Many just want to negotiate Amazon prices. I no longer enjoyed that," explains the Salzburg native. Another reason why she switched to working as an X-ray assistant was the poor pay in retail. As an assistant in X-ray departments (at regional hospitals), she hopes to find fulfilling work. "I can support the patient's medical history," says Steiner. A friend works as a radiology technologist and reported good experiences, according to the career changer: "People are happy when their recovery process gets going."

Nursing assistant fills most classes.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Salzburg's healthcare policy and the head of the nursing school are also pleased with the strong influx into the healthcare sector this year (see box). "We have more students than ever before. There are 512 this year, from nursing assistants to other branches and the new radiology assistant. Last year, 107 new students started, this year 184," says Head of School Markus Widlroither. He expects the high number of new students to shorten the very long waiting times for CT scans and operations in Salzburg.

There were five times as many applicants for the training courses as there were places. Those who found a "parent company" (clinic, X-ray institute) are reimbursed the 7,000 euro course costs.

Changeover is not financially easy for applicants
However, retraining is financially difficult for those interested. They only receive unemployment benefit and a small subsidy. Isabelle Steiner says: "We took out a loan for housing. I had to think carefully about the change." She hopes to be able to make ends meet by the time she assists with x-rays in a year's time.

Facts and figures
This school year, 512 men and women are attending the 94-year-old Salzburg School of Nursing. The training course for radiology assistants is new with 18 participants. Nursing assistants fill three classes. Operating theatre assistants (84 this year) and surgical assistants (17) are important for reducing waiting times in operating theatres. The assistant professions are now being increasingly promoted in order to relieve doctors, radiologists and various hospital wards. A course for surgery assistants has therefore also been new since 2023.