by Carol Burke, NurseZone Editorial Director
The chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Jim Jeffords, R-Vt., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., announced during a Capitol Hill forum Feb. 14, that they will cosponsor a bill, The Nurse Reinvestment Act, to encourage interest in and support for nursing education and practice.
NurseZone representative Chris Vlautin was there for the forum and said the talks were “focused, in-depth and important for the healthcare industry.”
The forum was sponsored by the Center for Health Policy, Research and Ethics, following release of the Year 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. The survey shows that the number of registered nurses in the United States grew by 137,666 between 1996 and 2000, only a 5.4 percent increase—not enough to keep up with demand for RNs in many states in the nation—and the lowest increase reported in all previous national surveys.
What’s more, the survey shows a significant drop in the number of RNs under the age of 35. In 1980, 40.5 percent of RNs were under the age of 35, compared to 18.3 percent in 2000. Now, more than two-thirds of the nation’s nurses are age 40 and over, while less than 10 percent are under 30.
“There are 78 billion baby boomers retiring and needing care,” Jeffords told the forum audience. “We are facing a nursing crisis. We must take further action to encourage more dedicated Americans to enter the field and to support them once they’re there.”
He said that responsibility lies not only with the health profession, but also with the United States government, and that the infusion of nurses alone would not solve the ‘looming crisis’ ahead for the state of nursing.
“It’s essential that retention issues like workplace environment, changing jobs and compensation be addressed as well,” Jeffords said. “We are focusing on pipeline policy to increase the number of qualified individuals entering the nursing profession and to stay in the profession.”
Kerry pointed out that this is not the first cycle of nursing shortages in the United States; however, the factors affecting this cycle are focused not just around the change in delivery systems, but also around the economy of choices of young people.
“If skilled employees in the healthcare section are not available, in reality, we’re delivering care that is sub-par,” he said. “It’s not a question of the bottom line—[but a question of the] human bottom line and that’s just not acceptable.”
Kerry said that he has spoken to nurses who wouldn’t feel comfortable having a family member treated in the healthcare facility where they work because of the decline in ability to provide good care.
He said the Nurse Reinvestment Act would propose the following:
- New recruitment of students into the nation’s nursing programs;
- Funding of national and local public service efforts to enhance the profile of nurses and to encourage students to commit to a career in nursing;
- Expanding school-to-career partnerships between healthcare facilities, nursing colleges and high schools to show America’s youths the value and the opportunity of a nursing degree;
- Supporting remedial education of older students from disadvantaged backgrounds who need help in getting up to speed on math, science, medicine and English.
- Supporting single parents with daycare and transportation to school;
- Reinvesting in nurses who are already in the field by providing training at every step of the career ladder;
Access to specialty training and advanced nursing degrees;
- Grants for distance learning;
- A national nurse service corps to administer scholarships and a loan repayment program for nurses who commit to work for the same number of years as the financial assistance they receive;
- Raising incentives for college graduates to enter the nursing field; and
- Raising nursing teacher’s salaries.
“I’m really confident that we can have a significant impact if we move quickly,” Kerry said.
Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., also spoke at the forum.
Following the talk given by the senators, Morton Rapaport, president and chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical System spoke about the nursing shortage from the front line, leaders from the University of Albany and the University of California, San Francisco spoke about the nursing shortage issues in New York and California, and Claude Earl Fox, MD, Ph.D., administrator for the Health Resources and Service Administration spoke about "The 'Access' Agency’s Role in the Health Workforce.”
George Mason University Center for Health Policy Research & Ethics will sponsor another round of talks on Capitol Hill, March 26, titled, “To Rebuild the Nursing Workforce: A Showcase for Strategies.” The forum will look at strategies employed through federal programs to grow and diversify the nursing workforce.
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