Nurses are in short supply. Hospital patients have sometimes suffered compromised care because of the nursing shortage and the demand for more nurses is growing as the baby boom generation ages and requires more medical care. Despite the shortage, nursing schools rejected more than 67,000 qualified applicants in 2010. Funding cuts have limited the ability of nursing schools to launch new programs and equip new facilities. Faculty members at nursing schools are aging and retiring, and few qualified teachers are stepping up to take their places. Nurses with the necessary experience and academic credentials to teach can earn more in a clinical setting than in a classroom.
Health care reform will change nursing in fundamental ways and schools are trying to anticipate and prepare for those changes. According to a 2010 report from the Institute of Medicine, the role of nurse practitioners will expand dramatically to provide care to 30 million new patients enabled by the health care reform laws enacted in 2010. Nursing schools are being challenged to use resources to expand their graduate programs to meet the demand. The health care system will also face new economic constraints and acute care in a hospital setting is expected to be limited. Nursing will take place in different settings, such as homes, clinics and rehabilitation centers. Nursing schools acknowledge the need to prepare nurses for careers beyond a traditional hospital setting.
A generation ago, most nurses attended a two-year hospital school where they earned a diploma and the right to take a state licensing exam. Hospital schools have been replaced by schools of nursing that award four-year bachelor degrees. Community colleges still offer two-year nursing programs, but most hospitals now require nurses to have at least a bachelor's degree. In addition to providing more training, nursing schools are being challenged to prepare students for a high-tech health care environment. Keeping current requires significant investments in equipment. Also, a patient's treatment may now include input from doctors, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers and other specialists. Nursing schools are beginning to emphasize the value of interdisciplinary education and collaboration with other fields.
Global travel and trade are challenging nursing schools to prepare students for new diseases and patients. The world has become a smaller place for people and for infectious diseases. New bacteria and viruses introduced into populations by travelers have the potential to spread quickly because the hosts have no antibodies to fight the germs. Nurses need to be able to recognize new types of infections and must be ready for new health problems, including pandemics. Globalization has also triggered a wave of migration of people seeking economic opportunities. Nursing schools are trying to prepare students to care for patients from a broad range of cultures and societies.