Opinions on the Nursing Education Opportunities Act

Since the bill is in the first steps of the legislative process there have been few personal or political comments in favor of or opposing the bill. Some supporters for the bill include Dr. Betty Paulanka, Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware and Dr. Jeanette Lancaster, President of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Dr. Betty Paulanka says "We applaud Sen. Biden for this initiative to address the nursing shortage with funding initiatives for returning adult students and for meeting Delaware's longtime need for a doctoral program in nursing. These issues are not being addressed in previous bills". Dr. Jeanette Lancaster explains the situation further that "[a]t the heart of the problem is the need for doctoral nurse faculty". http://www.blogthecoast.com/primary/breaking/2007/10/

Other supporters for this bill include:

Association for Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) http://www.awhonn.org/awhonn/content.do;jsessionid=624317FF5017105DE76B85C79B01D97D?name=05_HealthPolicyLegislation/5B4d_NursingShortage.htm

National League for Nursing (NLN)
http://capwiz.com/nln/issues/bills/

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:Kp7AgzmZRqoJ:www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/pdf/NEOAct.pdf+Against:+Nursing+Education+Opportunities+Act:+S.+2230&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Regardless of the poll posted on this blog, currently there is no outspoken opposition to this bill.

The priority for all those concerned and the reason this blog has been created is to provide and encourage discussion in hopes that this bill will gain recognition among politicians and the general public. We encourage people to talk about this bill with others and to write your congressman about the concern you have for the continuous lack of nurses in the field. This is a way we all can give voice to the concerns of our health system and to become an advocate for current and future patients.

As stated for a plan of action, an editorial was written to the Daily News Record of Harrisonburg, VA. Nothing has been heard yet as to whether the editorial would be published. The editorial was written to bring awareness to people of this community as to possible reasons for the nursing shortage and ways that this bill addresses those issues.

This is a copy of the editorial sent to the Daily News Record:

"The Nursing Education Opportunities Act is a bill amend title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to expand the nurse student loan program, to establish grant programs to address the nursing shortage, to amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for a nurse faculty pilot project, and for other purposes.

As a nursing student at James Madison University, it is seen firsthand the struggle among peers excited about the nursing program work extremely hard their first two years at the University to make sufficient grades (and G.P.A.) to become eligible for the program. Once eligible and accepted to the program (approximately 60-70 students are selected per semester), nursing students must pay for overly priced textbooks, JMU nursing scrubs and uniforms attire, lab fees, gas monies to and from clinicals, class dues, and tuition itself. With tuition rising each year, students in the nursing program are having a harder time being able to afford the education it requires to achieve their dream job. With grants and students loans that come with this bill, more nursing students will be able to achieve their goals.

Not only is the nursing program expensive for students, but it is also highly competitive. Prospective students often have to wait a semester or two to be accepted and start the program. This problem could be solved with grant money to allow the hiring of qualified nursing professors. Of course, there are not many professors available right now because there is hardly an incentive to return to college to teach.

To discuss the nursing shortage: this bill would pave the way for allowing more qualified students to be accepted to nursing programs, which is a step in the right direction for lessening this problem. Also, with this bill, there would be an incentive for retired nurses to pursue higher education to become nursing faculty at universities, such as JMU, who are in constant need of professors.

In support of this bill, it is encouraged to research this issue as it is not discussed often in the presidential debates, yet is very important and affects everyone. For more information on this bill, please visit: http://nsgforchange.blogspot.com/"

Developments in the Nursing Education Opportunities Act:

The Nursing Education Opportunities Act: S. 2230 was first introduced on October 30, 2007. Since then, there has been no further developments in this bill. The bill is in the first step in the legislative process and still has to be reported by the Committee, voted on in the House, voted by the Senate, and considered and signed by the President, before the bill becomes a law.

Our position:

We support this bill, and see the need for further nursing education, more student loans, and an increased number of faculty members to meet our country's growing nursing demand.

Our political action plan:

• contact key stakeholders (specifically our nurse educators, the professors of JMU) and encourage them to get involved with this bill
• research current articles pertaining to this bill
• try to understand the opposition, as well as the pros and cons of the bill
• contact supporters and examine their efforts and action plans
• contact our VA legislators and encourage them to support the bill
• write an editorial to local newspapers to get our thoughts to the community

Key stakeholders:

• Students
• Professors
• Nurses
• Hospitals
• Health care facilities
• Educational Institutes
• Patients

Scholarly evidence:

• The National League for Nursing (NLN) website provides the Tri-Council Testimony to Congress that dealt with appropriations for nursing education and research. The testimony presented the "statement on Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act, (Nurse Education Act or NEA), that provides for nursing workforce development." The group supported increased funding for the Nursing Education Act. Details can be found at the following URL: http://www.nln.org//aboutnln/news_testimony.htm
  
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professionals and National Center for Health Workforce Analysis published a report, Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortages of Registered Nurses: 2000 - 2020 illustrating current national supply and demand projections.

Governmental Objectives:

• Meet nursing shortage demand and fill vacant staff positions
• Increase funding to nursing program to expand faculty, staff, and facilities
• Accommodate the increase in nursing students of levels including bachelor, doctoral, etc.
• Increase student loan access and availability

Political Influences:

• Students
• Teachers
• Nurses
• Hospitals
• Health care facilities
• Educational Institutes
• Patients

Potential Impact for Nurses:

• Decrease staffing strain and better job satisfaction
• More accessible education
• Increased experience of nurses as pursue further education
• Better staff/patient ratio resulting in better relationship

Potential Impact for Patients:

• Better care and outcomes
• Increased quality of care

Potential Impact for Health Care System:

• Ultimately decreased costs due to better patient outcomes
• Increased standards

Scholarly Evidence:

• Reports in September of 2004, project that the shortage of nursing is continuing to progress, and that in fact the number of RN's leaving their positions will actually outpace those entering. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provides evidence in the study, What is Behind HRSA's Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortages of Registered Nurses?,available online at: ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/bhpr/workforce/behindshortage.pdf.
• The National League for Nursing (NLN) released a preliminary report on December 9, 2005 which estimated that schools of nursing with entry-level baccalaureate, associate, and diploma programs were forced to reject more than 147,000 qualified applicants for 2005. This was an 18 percent increase over the previous year's figures. www.nln.org
• American Journal of Nursing in July 2008 printed an article entitled, Many Experienced Nurses Plan to Leave the Profession, that supports the fact that nurses leaving their practice will contribute to the nursing shortage and the conditions that perpetuate it http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com/spb/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8c801e28bf12495710f9ff724170747ec89f1c9c473ab06f8eab6bed75c53472ac28775f4fe25b850def47a2489a7bf625cfd3045637a8300cd07f0e552e75fe0ce9b913a46c2a82e8c4471bdaff08cad97400f044678fac503f14b8d8a0a56d27edb243a041b0db049168618349e8763ec4e73ad2a79293f02240190b4c364f40d34f55ed53103f80e96124f159b687b5421c37a10cf5f60d2b7a732464bc02ab46466c396993b5812f23a2afe18b7490f1727c92551ead9205af3ee21d8b6451d8ebb0c306491c69c102e33d50a49132cc3b2ccbb11270e854d53be54b9e8a7e#11