The problem, however, is not a lack of Americans who want to be nurses. It’s finding the schools that can teach them.
“There’s definitely a lot of people interested in nursing,” said Robert Rosseter, spokesman for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
“The number of students who met all the requirements but weren’t admitted was over 67,000 students last year [in U.S. nursing programs],” he said. “People do want in, but there just aren’t enough seats.”
As a retired nursing educator I can attest to the complexity of the problem. While it is true that a lack of faculty plays a big role in the loss of numbers of students entering nursing programs, it is also true that that is only one facet of the problem. There are good nursing schools with great facilities but there still needs to be a place where students can actually practice their skills on actual patients. Hospitals, clinics, care facilities are stretched thin to provide that space. In my home area (Portland-Vancouver metro area) there are fully TEN nursing programs–ALL of whom produce terrific nurses (some are ADN, some BSN). But trying to put students from 10 schools of nursing into clinical experiences in 6 large hospitals, a few smaller hospitals, and an assortment of care facilities and clinics while at the same time ASSURING high quality nursing care to each patient is like coordinating a Chinese fire drill! So (1)lack of faculty, (2) lack of facilities, and (3)inability to assure consistent, high quality patient care all contribute to the scarcity of nursing graduates.
It is a real predicament!
The Asheville-Buncombe Community College, NC, will go to the county voters this fall to ask for a quarter percent local increase in sales tax (25 cents on $100) to raise about 6 million a year for 20 years for buildings, including a clinical practice building to allow expansion of the nursing program. Faculty is available but facilities especially clinical facilties are needed.
There is a catch 22. The nursing shortage drives up salaries and then the public colleges can’t keep their nursing clinical instructors because they can put “nursing clinical instructor” on their resume and they are immediately hired away from the college because the colleges can’t compete with the salaries in the private sector especially in these times of shrinking state budgets?
I would be interested, Dr. Joan, to your thoughts on this quandary.