Madam Speaker, nurses are the backbone of our health care system. The shortage of nurses throughout our country leaves patients unattended, doctors stressed, and nurses exhausted from extra shifts. A…
Madam Speaker, nurses are the backbone of our health care system. The shortage of nurses throughout our country leaves patients unattended, doctors stressed, and nurses exhausted from extra shifts. A principle reason for this shortage of nurses is the shortage of nursing school faculty. Because of the faculty shortage many schools of nursing are turning away good students who would make good nurses.
I am pleased that my amendment which attaches the Nursing School Capacity Act, H.R. 677, to the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (H.R. 4137) has been accepted in the bill passed in the House. I thank Representative Welch and Representative Capps, one of the Co-Chairs of the House Nursing Caucus, for cosponsoring this amendment with me. H.R. 677, which has 76 cosponsors, directs the Institute of Medicine to study the constraints experienced by schools of nursing in admitting and graduating enough nurses to meet growing needs.
I appreciate that House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Miller accepted our amendment and incorporated it into his Manager's Amendment. Today's action shows that Congress understands the healthcare crisis facing states like New Jersey.
The study my amendment directs will explore the constraints that our nation's schools of nursing face and propose short and long term solutions to address the nursing crisis. I look forward to reviewing the study's recommendations and working to implement them before the quality of care suffers.
Over the years, I have heard from many nursing professionals from New Jersey about the nursing crisis, particularly the inability of nursing schools to meet growing workforce demands. In fact, a study from the National League of Nursing states that in 2004, nursing schools were forced to turn down 147,000 qualified applicants due to a lack of faculty. That is why I first introduced the Nursing School Capacity Act three years ago, and why I am excited that it's close to becoming law today.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the New Jersey Hospital Association all endorsed the legislation. I ask unanimous consent that their endorsement letters be included in the Record.
We have not solved the nursing crisis with today's action, but we have taken a step in better understanding the problem.
February 4, 2008.
Hon. Rush Holt,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Holt: On behalf of the American
Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the American
Nurses Association, we would like to thank you for offering
the language included in the Nursing School Capacity Act of
2007 (H.R. 677) as an amendment to the College Opportunity
and Affordability Act of 2007 (H.R. 4137).
Over the past decade, the inability to increase the supply
of nurses has become more apparent as the challenges faced by
nursing education programs have intensified. These challenges
force schools of nursing to turn away thousands of qualified
applicants each year. According to a 2006 AACN report, U.S.
nursing schools turned away 42,866 qualified applicants due
to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites,
classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints.
Almost three quarters of the nursing schools responding to
AACN's survey pointed to faculty shortages as a primary
reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into
nursing programs. A Special Survey on Vacant Faculty
Positions released by AACN in July 2007, reported a total of
767 faculty vacancies (8.8 percent vacancy rate) identified
at 329 nursing schools with baccalaureate and/or graduate
programs across the country.
Clearly, the obstacles faced by schools of nursing in
attempting to increase enrollment and graduations are vastly
complex and warrant further investigation. Your bill will
facilitate the discussion of these constraints and help
explore solutions to overcome the barriers that are
preventing potential students from entering the nursing
profession. In addition, your bill calls for recommendations
to be made by the Institute of Medicine which will serve as a
valuable resource for policy-makers as well as the health,
industry, and education systems.
AACN and ANA sincerely appreciate your willingness to
thoroughly investigate the nursing and nurse faculty shortage
through the Nursing School Capacity Act.
Sincerely,
American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
American Nurses Association.
American Organization of
Nurse Executives,
Washington, DC, February 4, 2008.
Hon. Rush Holt,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Congressman Holt: On behalf of the over 6000 members
of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
representing nurses in all facets of executive practice, we
would like to express our strong support for the amendment
that you and Representative Welch are prepared to offer to
H.R. 4147 the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of
2000. The amendment incorporates the language of your bill
H.R. 677, the Nursing School Capacity Act into a more
comprehensive piece of legislation and would provide the
nursing and health care communities with important research
into the underlying causes of the nursing shortage.
The majority of AONE's membership of registered
professional nurses are leaders in the day-to-day management
and delivery of direct patient care services. In this
position, we have been able to see first hand the impacts of
the worsening nursing shortage and applaud your efforts to
address this critical situation through the provision of
study to be conducted by the Institute of Medicine of the
National Academy of Sciences. Understanding that the nursing
shortage is the result of the convergence of a number of
factors, your proposed legislation would identify the
constraints encountered by schools of nursing in admitting
and graduating the number of registered nurses to ensure
patient safety but it would also propose recommendations to
alleviate the constraints on a short-term and long-term
basis.
AONE has been in the forefront of attempts to deal with the
nursing shortage and welcomes the opportunity to participate
in the proposed study as a consultant in partnership with the
other relevant organizations named in your legislation. AONE
has focused on the work environment and the educational
preparation of the nurse of the future. We see our past and
current work as integral to the study you have proposed. Your
legislation provides a comprehensive approach to identifying
and quantifying the factors that have contributed to the
shortage such as regulatory barriers, educational
preparation, salary and benefit structures, and
characteristics of the workplace.
AONE applauds your efforts and those of Mr. Welch to
include this needed legislation as an amendment to H.R. 4147
the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007.
Sincerely,
Carol A. Watson,
President.
Pamela A. Thompson,
Chief Executive Officer.
