Nursing Shortage Becoming A Policy Concern
March 10, 2009
By the Online Nursing Career Content Team – Find Top Nursing Programs Online!
The nationwide nursing shortage is increasingly getting the attention of elected officials as well as industry leaders.
This week, a Reuters report noted that there are currently about 116,000 unfilled nursing positions at U.S. hospitals, and about 100,000 such openings in the country's nursing homes.
The report quoted Congresswoman Lois Capps of California as saying that meaningful reform of the U.S. healthcare system will also depend on fixing this shortage, telling the wire service that "nurses deliver healthcare." The report noted that Capps herself once worked as a school nurse.
The report notes that a practicing nurse with a graduate degree can earn over $80,000 per year.
One way officials are talking about fixing the system is by attracting more nurses with advanced degrees to become teachers at nursing schools. Nursing organizations and some members of Congress have announced their support for one bill that would increase federal grants to recruit more nursing school instructors.
If working as a nurse appeals to you, there may never be a better time to consider getting started in a nursing program that could soon have you working in this vital and rapidly growing industry.
Find a Top Online Nursing Schools Today
Related Article Topics: Online Nursing Career
