Iowa Introduces Bill to Help Eliminate Nationwide Nurse Shortage

Reports have been consistent for months now: there is an undeniable shortage of nurses throughout the United States. Factors vary for this phenomenon, but one major issue is that nursing schools have been turning away far too many prospective students, not for lack of caring but for lack of teachers. Following that train of logic, one way to increase numbers is becoming all the more obvious — getting more nurses may be as simple as hiring more teachers, and some state officials are more than willing to help.

“If I can put it in anatomical terms, there’s not enough red blood cells flowing through the blood stream. We need to make more red blood cells,” said Dr. Rita A. Frantz, professor and dean at the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing. “It’s not that we don’t have the students. We definitely have the applicant pool — way more than we can accommodate. And this isn’t a problem unique to our school. It’s happening throughout the country.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham (R-Ames), who has been an active participant in policy discussions related to nursing for years, thinks the federal government can help give schools like Frantz’s the resources they need to attract more nurse educators. Together with U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, Latham introduced a bill that would establish a federal student loan repayment program for nurses who agree to teach full-time at an accredited school of nursing.

According to the article in Iowa Independent, there are many financial aid programs in place already for students working on nursing degrees, but none so far specifically for students with aspirations of teaching. The new bill could change that, and give nursing schools a sorely-needed jump start toward taking on more qualified teachers, and thusly turning out more qualified students to fill our health care industry’s needs.

Tags: careers, financial aid, Nursing Careers, nursing schools, nursing shortage, nursing teaching, shortage, teaching