Continued:
Though interest in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs is strong, thousands of qualified applicants are being turned away from four-year colleges and universities. In fact, AACN's survey found that 49,948 qualified applications were not accepted at schools of nursing last year due primarily to a shortage of faculty and resource constraints. Within this total, applications turned away include 41,385 from entry-level baccalaureate, 1,659 from RN-to-Baccalaureate, 5,902 from master's, and 1,002 from doctoral programs.
The top reasons reported by nursing schools for not accepting all qualified students into entry-level baccalaureate programs, include a lack of faculty (62.5%), insufficient clinical teaching sites (53.8%), limited classroom space (42.3%), insufficient preceptors (25.4%) and budget cuts (14.8%). See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/pdf/TurnedAway.pdf.
With the goal of expanding student capacity, schools of nursing across the country are working to find creative ways to accept more qualified students into their programs. AACN is working to facilitate these efforts by advocating for federal legislation that benefits nursing education, including the establishment of a capitation grant program through the NEED Act that was introduced today by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL). In the 110th Congress, this legislation was championed by Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), and Lois Capps (D-CA) in the House and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) in the Senate.
"At a time when job loss and unemployment have affected so many sectors of our economy, it is inexcusable that funding and resource constraints at nursing schools are preventing us from filling gaps in the nursing workforce,” said Congresswoman Nita Lowey (NY-18). “In 2008, baccalaureate and graduate nursing schools in New York turned away 2,134 qualified applicants, 550 more students than last year. That is why I have introduced and supported the NEED Act since 2004. This legislation will help schools of nursing accommodate and train more qualified applicants so health care providers can hire the workforce they need.”
AACN commends the work of President Obama and Congress in the past few weeks to enact legislation that will support nursing students and schools across the country. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the House passage of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, and the President’s FY 2010 budget overview document (released today) all support solutions to address the critical shortage of nurses.