AACN Commends Efforts by Congress to Provide New Funding
to
Address the Nurse Faculty Shortage
WASHINGTON, DC, August 2, 2005 – The
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) today
announced its support for new federal legislation that
would effectively address the nation’s serious and
growing shortage of nurse educators. Introduced late last
week by Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY), Peter King
(R-NY), and Lois Capps (D-CA), the Nurse Education, Expansion
and Development (NEED) Act (H.R. 3569) would provide funding
to nursing schools to overcome obstacles to increasing
student capacity. According to AACN’s latest survey,
the primary reason nursing schools are unable to enroll
more students and better address the nursing shortage
is the insufficient supply of qualified nursing faculty.
“AACN applauds Reps. Lowey, King and
Capps for taking decisive action to address the underlying
causes of the nursing shortage, including the diminishing
pool of nurse educators,” said AACN President Jean
E. Bartels. “Nursing schools are struggling to increase
the number of graduates given the intensifying nursing
shortage, but they are hampered in their efforts due to
a shortage of faculty and resources.” Last year alone,
32,797 qualified students were turned away from baccalaureate
and graduate nursing programs due to a lack of qualified
faculty.
Through the NEED Act, schools of nursing
would receive funding as formula or capitation grants
to increase the number of nursing faculty and/or students.
These goals could be achieved by hiring new and retaining
current faculty, purchasing educational equipment and
audiovisual laboratories, enhancing clinical laboratories,
or recruiting new students. Grants would be authorized
based on the number of students enrolled in programs with
different funding allocations for students in baccalaureate
degree, associate degree, and diploma nursing programs.
Past capitation grant programs have had
a stabilizing effect on nursing shortages by providing
schools with the means to increase enrollments. From 1971-1978,
Congress provided per capita funding to schools in support
of nursing education programs. These capitation grants
were non-prescriptive in their demands for use of funding,
which allowed nursing schools to direct dollars to areas
of greatest need. An Institute of Medicine report released
in January 1974 endorsed capitation grant programs as
an appropriate federal undertaking to provide a stable
source of financial support for nursing and other health
profession schools.
“Given the past success of capitation
grant programs in resolving nursing shortages in this
country, we encourage Congress to act quickly and support
the NEED Act as an important next step to address the
current health care crisis,” added Dr. Bartels.
For more information on the NEED Act, including
a bill summary and the actual bill text, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/currentlegislation.htm.
For an overview of AACN’s legislative strategies
related to Nursing Workforce Development programs (Title
VIII, Public Health Service Act), see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/Docs/TitleVIIIFY06.DOC.
The American Association of Colleges
of Nursing is the national voice for university and four-year-college
education programs in nursing. Representing more than
585 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions
nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental
advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs
work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and
graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors
to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession
to improve health care, and promote public support of
baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research,
and practice. Web site: http://www.aacn.nche.edu.
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