A bitter pill: Nursing schools turning away thousands of applicants despite shortage

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Nurses are among the thousands who’ve hit the picket line this week, demanding better pay and a fix for a chronic staff shortage. The health care industry is facing a dearth of nurses, but the shortage is also the main reason why nursing schools are not able to accept more students who want to become registered nurses. Today we're spotlighting the vicious cycle that is leaving hospitals in critical condition.

WHAT IS HAPPENING

• More than 78,000 qualified applications were not offered spots at nursing schools last year, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. This includes 66,000 applications for entry-level bachelor’s degree programs. (Application numbers aren’t an exact proxy for prospective students, as one person often submits applications to multiple schools.)
• Programs are contending with a lack of faculty, clinical placements for students and preceptors who supervise the students during their rotations at health care providers. It shows how interdependent schools and hospitals are – shortages at hospitals mean there’s not enough staff available to train students.

WHY CAN’T COLLEGES HIRE ENOUGH FACULTY?

• Nursing schools have nearly 2,000 full-time faculty positions to fill, according to the nursing college association. Just under 8% of the teaching slots are vacant.
• Part of the problem is a lack of nurses with advanced degrees, particularly on the doctoral level, which many schools require or prefer in order to be considered for employment. The Covid-19 pandemic also interrupted many nurses’ efforts to pursue graduate education because they were needed on the job, according to Cynthia McCurren, the association’s board chair.?

• But experts say one of the biggest obstacles to hiring more educators is the salary. For those with master’s degrees who want to move from a clinical role to a teaching job, they’d have to take a pay cut of $31,000, according to median salary statistics cited by the association. “We just can’t keep up with the salaries on the education side with what they’re able to earn on the practice side,” McCurren says.
• Experts also point to the high cost of teaching nursing , which requires specialized classrooms, laboratories, and simulation equipment. Those materials drive costs up considerably higher than what it takes for a college to offer a lecture class or a small seminar in math or English.

THE TOLL ON PATIENT CARE

• ECRI, an independent health care research firm, ranks the industry’s staffing shortage as the greatest risk to American patients.
• When burnout leads to staffing shortages, it can mean decreased time for consultations and increased medical errors, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned last year in an advisory.
• Experts also say adequate nurse staffing shortens the length of hospital stays, reduces the risk to patients of infections, and improves health outcomes in the overall population. Nurses of color also help narrow health disparities within their communities.

BIG PICTURE

• Staffing shortages are a major factor in the current strike by more than 75,000 unionized employees, including nurses, at Kaiser Permanente. It’s the largest health care worker strike in US history.
• A recent survey found that among nurses, about half felt emotionally drained at work. Another survey found that while many cared very much about their work, their work satisfaction has declined and stress levels have increased.
• To try to offset the pressures health care workers face, President Biden recently signed the first federal law that authorizes grants for programs that offer behavioral health services for frontline health care workers.
• In addition, the Biden administration announced a $100 million investment to boost the nursing workforce through training and education programs.
• The need for nurses is only going to grow as America ages. Baby boomers are reaching retirement age – an age when people need more medical care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated there would be about 193,000 registered nurse openings annually from 2022 to 2032.

Have you had to delay medical care because of staffing shortages? Do you work in the health care industry? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Here are some other stories we're following today:

War won't wait: A Russian missile hit a small village in eastern Ukraine today, killing more than 50 civilians – including a small child – at a cafe and shop, Ukrainian officials say. The White House says the tragedy shows why the US must maintain aid to Ukraine, urging Americans to "stop and think" about having to endure such attacks "every day" like Ukrainians do. President Biden asked Congress to approve a new Ukraine aid package months ago, but many Republicans oppose it, and the funding is now mired in the chaos that's enveloped the House since GOP hard-liners forced out Speaker Kevin McCarthy this week.

Build that wall (the law says so): The Biden administration will build more barriers along the US border with Mexico, a surprising move considering President Biden's 2020 campaign promise that there would "not be another foot" of border wall built on his watch. A notice tucked in to the Federal Register cites "high illegal entry " in the Rio Grande Valley and says construction of border barriers in that area will be paid for with Trump-era funding earmarked specifically for that purpose. Biden says he tried to get the money appropriated for something else but the law wouldn't allow it. On top of that, building the barriers requires Biden’s administration to waive 26 environmental laws.

Fall of records: Last month was the hottest September ever recorded, marking the fourth straight month of unprecedented global temperatures and continuing a year of historic heat. New data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service puts 2023 further on its way to becoming the hottest year in recorded history, with September's average global air temperature on par with an unusually hot July. Along with the heat, September saw climate-influenced extreme weather that included deadly mass flooding in Libya and Greece , unprecedented wildfires blazing in Canada , and record rainfall that swamped New York .

Trade headwinds: Inflation, the Ukraine war and China's economic woes will squeeze global trade this year way more than previously thought, the World Trade Organization says. The WTO is slashing its 2023 global trade forecast by half, predicting just 0.8% growth after estimating 1.7% earlier this year. Countries' ability to do business with one another is being reined in from multiple sides, the WTO says, including "persistent inflation and tighter monetary policy" in the US and EU, "strained property markets" weighing down China's post-Covid recovery, and the ripple effects from Russia's ongoing Ukraine invasion. The trade slowdown will trickle down, with “adverse implications” for living standards around the world, the WTO's director-general warns.

Extra charge: There was a big move today in the race for electric vehicle dominance — Hyundai, Kia and Genesis announced they'll switch the plugs on their US EVs to fit Tesla's North American charging system. Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Honda and other carmakers have said the same in recent months. Tesla's charging system was proprietary until last year, when CEO Elon Musk opened the door to its use by other manufacturers. Doing so could qualify Tesla to build charging stations with federal infrastructure money that requires standardized technology to encourage more Americans to drive electric .

A treat at the pump? Filling your tank may look a lot less scary between now and Halloween. US oil prices suddenly plummeted yesterday in their biggest one-day decline in a year and today hit a five-week low. That could drive the national average price down from its current $3.77 a gallon to as low as $3.25 by October 31, one industry analyst says.

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