Group forms to promote nursing shortage discussion

A group of 21 stakeholders from across the healthcare industry has come together to see to it that the problem of the U.S. nursing shortage doesn't get dropped from the national discussion of U.S. healthcare reform.

The group, the Champion Nursing Coalition, includes the AARP, the American Hospital Association, Verizon Communications and America's Health Insurance Plans. Its goal is to advance the message that ending the nursing shortage should be a key point in the health reform debate.

Even with powerhouse advocates for change involved, solutions to the shortage problem won't come easy. Research by the National League of Nursing recently noted that nearly 100,000 students were turned away from college-level nursing degree programs last year due to a shortage of nursing faculty members.

To learn more about the shortage:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1] (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Study: Minimum staffing rules boost CA nurse pay [2]
Study: Nursing shortage gap closing [3]
Case study: Almost half of FL nursing applicants rejected [4]
Nurse shortage expected to extend over next seven years [5]