DURBIN MEETS WITH LOCAL NURSES AND EDUCATORS TO DISCUSS HOW TO EASE NURSING SHORTAGE
[CARTERVILLE, IL] – The United States is facing a critical shortage of qualified trained nurses and one of the major causes is an insufficient number of nurse educators, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today as he concluded a week-long tour of Illinois communities including Decatur, Champaign, Paris, Mattoon and Carterville that are affected by the shortage. The Senator discussed his plan to help stem the nursing shortage, which includes legislation he introduced in the Senate last week to provide grants to colleges to expand their ability to educate nursing students, as well as a pilot program, for which he secured Senate passage earlier this month, that will offer incentives to nurses leaving the military to become nurse teachers.
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2000 this country was 110,000 short of the number of nurses needed to adequately provide quality health care. By 2005, the shortage had doubled to 219,000 and by 2020, we will be more than 1 million nurses short,” Durbin said.
Durbin noted that statistics paint a bleak a picture for the availability of nursing faculty now and into the future. Last year, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing surveyed more than 400 schools of nursing. They found that 66% of the schools reported vacancies on their faculty. An additional 15% said they were fully staffed but still needed more faculty to handle the number of students who want to be trained. It is expected that 200 to 300 doctorally-prepared faculty will be eligible for retirement each year from 2005 through 2012, reducing nursing faculty while the need for qualified nurses continues to increase.
“Even as America is experiencing an acute shortage of nurses, qualified students who wish to dedicate their future to nursing are being denied that opportunity,” Durbin said. “Nursing schools last year turned away 35,000 qualified applicants because they don’t have enough teachers on staff. My bill will strike at the heart of the problem by giving colleges all across the country the ability to train more nurses.”
In Illinois, the number of qualified nursing students being rejected is growing. In 2002-2003, there were 502 qualified nursing students being rejected from Illinois nursing schools. Last year, there were 1,900 students turned away because of lack of faculty and resources. At Illinois State University, for example, 100 qualified applicants were rejected as a result of a shortage of teachers and financial resources.
Durbin’s Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development (NEED) Act would address the situation by:
Authorizing capitation grants (formula grants to schools based on the number of students enrolled) for schools of nursing to improve their ability to educate nursing students.
Making graduate, baccalaureate, and associate degree nursing programs eligible to receive grant funding to hire and retain new faculty, purchase educational equipment, enhance clinical laboratories, and repair and expand infrastructure -- the very problems preventing schools from enrolling more students.
Requiring the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on ways to increase the number of nurse faculty.
“Nurses care for our children and grandchildren, our parents and other loved ones. We know the difference nurses make in our lives – and increasingly we are noticing the difference when we do not have enough of these dedicated men and women when we need them most,” said Durbin. “More needs to be done to boost our nurse faculty workforce in order to train the nurses we will need in the years to come.”
In mid-June, Durbin led a bi-partisan effort to adopt a six-year pilot program which offers incentives to nurses leaving the military to become nurse educators. The “Troops to Nurse Teachers” program was approved by the Senate and included in the Senate FY’07 Department of Defense Authorization bill.
“Nurses who have spent time in the military can help fill a critical gap that hurts both military and civilian health care facilities. Their service to our country will go beyond their work in military hospitals and include our classrooms and lecture halls,” Durbin said.
The “Troops to Nurse Teachers” program will:
Provide transitional assistance for service members who already hold a master’s or PhD in nursing or a related field, and are qualified to teach. Eligible service members will receive career placement assistance, transitional stipends, and educational training from accredited schools of nursing to expedite their transition.
Establish a scholarship program, on a pilot basis, that will provide financial assistance to members of the Armed Forces who have been involved in nursing during their military service in obtaining the education necessary to become nurse educators. Tuition, stipends, and financing for other educational expenses will also be provided. Recipients of scholarships must commit to teaching at an accredited school of nursing for three years in exchange for the educational support they receive. The Department of Defense may also require continuing service in the Selected Reserve, or some other form of public service.
Durbin’s initiative is based on the Troops to Teachers program created in 1994, which has trained 14,000 former service members to be math and science teachers. More than 6,000 have been placed in high-poverty schools.
Durbin’s NEED legislation and his Troops to Nurse Teachers program are endorsed by the American Nurses Association; American Hospital Association; American Association of Colleges of Nursing; American Organization of Nurse Executives; American Health Care Association; and the National League of Nursing.
