Enrollment growth
slows at U.S. Nursing Colleges and
Universities in 2007 despite calls for more
Registered Nurses
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- The American Association of Colleges of
Nursing (AACN) today released preliminary
survey data that show that enrollment in
entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs
increased by 4.98 percent from 2006 to 2007.
Though this marks the
seventh consecutive year of enrollment
growth, the rate at which nursing schools
have been able to increase student capacity
has declined sharply since 2003 when
enrollment was up by 16.6 percent.
While this increase
represents a positive trend, AACN is
concerned that more than 30,000 qualified
applicants were turned away from
baccalaureate nursing programs last year due
primarily to an intensifying shortage of
nurse faculty.
"In an environment of
diminishing faculty and financial resources,
nursing schools nationwide must be commended
once again for managing to expand student
capacity in professional nursing programs,"
said AACN President Jeanette Lancaster.
"Still, with the nation
facing a nursing shortage into the
foreseeable future, more must be done to
ensure that all
qualified individuals
looking to enter the field are accommodated
in baccalaureate and graduate nursing
programs."
By the year 2020, the
Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA) projects that more than one million
new Registered Nurses (RNs) will be needed
in the U.S. healthcare system to meet the
demand for nursing care. HRSA projects that
nursing schools must increase the number of
graduates by 90 percent in order to
adequately address the nursing shortage.
With preliminary data
showing a 7.4 percent increase in
graduations from
baccalaureate nursing programs this year,
schools are falling far short of meeting
this target.
Trends in
Nursing School Enrollments:
AACN's annual survey is
the most reliable source for actual (versus
projected) data on enrollment and
graduations reported by the nation's
baccalaureate- and graduate-degree programs
in nursing. This year's 4.98 percent
enrollment increase is based on data
supplied by the same 427 schools reporting
in both 2006 and 2007.
This is the seventh
consecutive year of enrollment gains with
7.6, 9.6, 14.1, 16.6, 8.1, and 3.7 percent
increases in 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002,
and 2001, respectively. Prior to the
seven-year upswing, baccalaureate nursing
programs experienced six
years of declining
enrollments from 1995 through 2000. For a
graphic depicting enrollment changes in
baccalaureate nursing programs from
1994-2007, see
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/ppt/94-07EnrChgs.ppt.
The AACN survey also found
that the number of graduates from
entry-level baccalaureate
programs increased by 7.4 percent from 2006
to 2007. The rise in graduations follows
18.4, 13.4, 14.0, 4.3 and 3.2 percent
increases in the number of graduates in
2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002,
respectively. This upward trend was preceded
by a six-year period of graduation declines
from 1996 through 2001.
Qualified
Students Turned Away Despite Nursing
Shortage:
Though interest in nursing
careers remains strong, many individuals
seeking to enter the profession cannot be
accommodated in nursing programs due to
faculty and resource constraints.
Preliminary AACN data show that 30,709
qualified applications were turned away from
entry-level
baccalaureate nursing
programs in 2007.
The number of qualified
applicants
denied admission each year
remains high with 38,415; 37,514; 29,425;
15,944; and 3,600 students turned away in
2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002,
respectively.
AACN expects this number
to rise even higher when final data
on qualified applicants
turned away in 2007 is available in March
2008. The primary barriers to accepting all
qualified students at nursing colleges and
universities continue to be insufficient
faculty, clinical placement sites, and
classroom space.
For a graphic showing the
number of qualified
applicants turned away
from baccalaureate nursing programs over the
past six years, see
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/ppt/02-07turnedaway.ppt.
"A successful solution to
the shortage of RNs and nurse faculty will
require a collaborative effort on the part
of the nursing profession, the health care
system, the federal government, businesses,
and all stakeholders," added Dr. Lancaster.
"Together, we must remove
barriers to
pursuing a nursing
education, provide incentives for nurses to
advance their education, facilitate careers
in academic nursing, and create practice
environments that encourage professional
practice and respect educational
achievement."
To help address the
shortage of nursing faculty, AACN is
leveraging its resources to secure federal
funding for professional nursing programs,
offer regional faculty development
conferences, administer minority faculty
recruitment scholarship
programs, collect annual data on faculty
vacancy rates, identify strategies to
address the shortage, and focus media
attention on this important issue. For more
detail on the nurse faculty shortage and
AACN's response, see
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/FacultyShortage.htmm.
Interest
Runs High in Professional Nursing Careers:
Given the demands of
today's health care system, the greatest
need in the nursing workforce is for nurses
prepared at the baccalaureate- and graduate-
degree levels. With the government calling
for baccalaureate
preparation for at least
two thirds of the nursing workforce, the
evidence clearly shows that higher levels of
nursing education are linked with lower
patient mortality rates, fewer errors, and
greater job satisfaction among RNs. The
American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE),
the national voice for nurse leaders in the
practice arena, also calls for baccalaureate
preparation for all RNs in the future. The
growing complexity of patient care and the
increase in patient acuity require that RNs
have the best
entry-level preparation
available..
contributed greatly to the
current shortage of nurse educators. Data
from the federal Division of Nursing clearly
show that graduates of baccalaureate-degree
programs in nursing are four times more
likely than graduates of associate degree
programs to pursue a doctoral or master's
degree, which is needed to teach in all
types of nursing programs.
"To stabilize the nursing
workforce, the federal government and other
stakeholders must focus on increasing
nursing school enrollments at the
baccalaureate level," said Dr. Lancaster.
"Besides adding to the RN workforce,
graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs
are much more likely to pursue graduate
education and achieve the credentials needed
to serve as
nurse educators.";
AACN and other authorities
believe that education has a strong impact
on a nurse's ability to practice, and that
patients deserve the best educated nursing
workforce possible. A growing body of
research from Dr. Linda Aiken and others
shows a strong connection between
baccalaureate education and lower mortality
rates.
The nursing shortage
cannot be used as
a reason for denying
patients the best care possible, especially
when almost 800 programs exist to move
entry-level nurses to the baccalaureate and
graduate levels. For more details on the
programs available to create a more highly
qualified nursing workforce, including
online options, see
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/NursingWrkf.htmm.
About the
AACN Survey:
Now in its 27th year,
AACN's Annual Survey of Institutions with
Baccalaureate and Higher
Degree Nursing Programs is conducted by the
association's Data and Research Center.
Information from the survey forms the basis
for the nation's premier database on trends
in enrollments and graduations, student and
faculty demographics, and faculty and deans'
salaries.
AACN data reflect actual
counts reported in fall 2007 by nursing
schools, not projections
or estimates based on past reporting. More
information about the upcoming data reports
will be posted soon on the AACN Web site at
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/IDS/datarep.htm.
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