Nursing education is designed to professionally prepare nurses for clinical practice. To ensure a smooth transition into patient care, nursing schools are increasingly collaborating with clinical partners to provide students with a hands-on educational experience. However, the U.S. nursing education system limits the enrollment of qualified nurse applicants due to faculty vacancies, limited infrastructure, and financial barriers, which contribute significantly to the global nursing shortage crisis.
Enrollment Barriers
U.S. nursing schools turn away 90k qualified nursing applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs due to insufficient faculty and clinical preceptors, limited clinical sites and classroom space, and budget constraints, with low faculty staffing being the most significant contributor.
As a result, nursing school enrollment isn’t meeting the projected demand for registered nurses, despite the increase in interest in applying. The United States’ RN employment is projected to grow 6% over the next decade, equating to more than 200,000 annual job openings for registered nurses. This data indicates the crucial need to address these shortcomings and strengthen the educational pathway in the nursing field.
Faculty Vacancy
Attracting and retaining qualified faculty is an issue that many nursing schools face. Without an adequate number of nursing school faculty, institutions can’t admit more students or expand educational programs which heightens the shortage of qualified nurses entering the healthcare field.
The largest barriers causing nursing education programs’ inability to hire new faculty members include inadequate funds, lack of full-time positions, competition for jobs in other marketplaces, an aging demographic, and noncompetitive salaries. These barriers have resulted in a vacancy rate of 8.8%, the lowest recorded.
Limited Infrastructure
Another primary factor contributing to the educational shortcomings is the limited capacity of nursing schools and clinical placement sites to accommodate all qualified applicants. Part of nursing education requires students to complete clinical training hours in hands-on healthcare settings; however, oftentimes there’s a shortage of proper clinical training sites available for those students. This limited capacity is due to liability concerns, limited resources at healthcare facilities, and competition with other healthcare professions.
Financial Barriers
Aspiring nurses may feel the burden of sky-high education costs. RN programs range anywhere from $12,000 – $60,000 plus miscellaneous expenses. Even with financial aid, more than 70% of nursing students graduate with over $37,000 in debt.
Moving Forward
In an effort to address the need for educated nurses, the U.S. Department of Labor is stepping up to the plate with an $80 million funding boost through the Nursing Expansion Grant Program to train, diversify, and expand our pool of nursing professionals.
Moving forward, healthcare companies need to seize opportunities to secure federal funding, enhance faculty development, innovate clinical training models, and advocate for policies reducing financial barriers. Through concerted efforts, we can pave the way for a robust nursing workforce aligned with the evolving healthcare landscape.
