Entering the nursing field has grown increasingly difficult in recent years, with barriers to entry that have little or nothing to do with actual qualifications or dedication. A serious gap has become obvious in nursing education, as there are not enough programs for students. With California needing nurses and an increasing number of students and aspiring nurses forced to turn to expensive, and therefore less accessible, private education, the need to grow nursing education has never been more obvious. More federal funding needs to be allocated to this expansion if public universities are going to be able to keep up with demand as private programs have done.
The limitations of nursing programs can be attributed to many factors, including low pay for instructors and the pandemic. On average, the annual salary of a college nursing instructor is $104,000, which is nearly $30,000 less than the annual salary of a registered nurse. There is no financial incentive to leave working in a hospital for a college campus. Universities can also have more requirements to teach that further limit the amount of qualified candidates for teaching. At Cal State Fullerton, teaching applicants must have a doctoral degree in a nursing-related field.
To make matters worse, the pandemic caused the closure of clinical sites throughout California in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19. While this action was necessary to protect the safety and health of students and patients, it is to the detriment of students today. Hospitals were forced to keep nursing students out, creating challenges in meeting the California Board of Registered Nursing’s clinical experience requirements. Furthermore, while COVID-19 drove demand for more nurses, the state’s increase in inhabitants with health insurance also facilitated demand for healthcare staff across the board.
Those who wish to become nurses are turning toward expensive private programs, which cost around $130,000, compared to UC and CSU programs which land around $39,000. Many students consider this price worth it as they can obtain their degree and practical training in a timely manner. These students also find high-paying nursing jobs more accessible, making student loans more realistically affordable. West Coast University Dean of Nursing Katie Kay has asserted that their graduates are, on average, earning jobs with an annual salary of $100,000. While this option provides an alternative, it is not a desirable one. Students should not be forced to take out massive loans to gain an education that should not be this unreasonably exclusive, regardless of a low risk of default.
Nurses are already under enormous pressure with understaffing, long hours and unreasonable demands. These facets are driving qualified and skilled nurses from the field at a time when they are desperately needed. The last thing medical professionals and patients need is a shortage of education programs that will facilitate the possibility of solving these issues. None of the challenges that nurses face can be addressed without more nurses. The answer is, unsurprisingly, more money. In 2023, Riverside City College and UC Davis received federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand their nursing programs. UC Irvine, with a $40 million donation, will be able to effectively double their enrollment by 2033. These increases in funding are what will protect the survival of public nursing programs. Without the resources and financial support received by private universities, public universities are destined to fail.
UC Riverside does not offer a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and the Health Professions Advising Center recommends that students apply directly to a university with a nursing program. This gap is costing UCR students as transferring to a nursing program is not advisable. UCR is just one of many universities that do not offer a much needed education program, a failure they should actively seek to remedy.
In May 2023, California Rep. Adam Schiff, along with several other democrats, introduced the Support Faculty and Expand Access to Nursing School Act to provide federal grants to nursing schools for the hiring of more faculty that would also allow universities to provide more competitive salaries. In support of the Bill, Schiff stated, “If we can’t train people to enter the profession, then as more and more retire, and a lot of our nursing workforce is aging out, we’re not going to have new nurses to take their place.”
This now qualifies as a crisis in California. Data from Sept. 2023 shows a decrease of 40,000 nurses fewer than needed with the possibility of that number increasing to 193,000 by 2030. This is a slippery slope that, without decisive action, will cost Californians a lot more than just money.
