NLN Applauds President's FY 2014 Nursing Education Funds Request

Additional $20 Million for the Advanced Education Nursing Program Will Help Address Nurse and Nurse Faculty Shortages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — April 10, 2013 — The issue of expanding nursing education capacity — including faculty, clinical resources, and physical space — to enroll and educate the numbers of students needed to meet future nursing demands continues to be critical. Reacting to President Obama's proposed budget, National League for Nursing CEO Dr. Beverly Malone expressed the Leagues appreciation for the potential impact of this funding on the nations health. "Federal funding is imperative to the equation between delivery of high quality health care services to the greatest number of Americans and nursing education. The Title VIII dollars requested in FY 2014 for nurse workforce development acknowledges the reality that nurses are an essential component of our health care safety net."

According to the NLN's Annual Survey, demand for admission to pre-licensure programs continues to outstrip supply, with shortages of faculty and clinical placements cited as the prime factors in constraining growth. Post-licensure, advanced degree programs, through which future nurse educators are prepared, have also reported that adding faculty would expand their admissions capacity.

Moreover, NLN research, cited in the administrations proposed budget, confirms the need for more funding to support racial and ethnic minority applicants to nursing programs in order to close the cultural gap between nurses and the diverse patient populations served. It has been reliably demonstrated that health outcomes improve, in particular among underserved and economically disadvantaged patients when caregivers share their cultural outlook and background.

"The NLN is gratified that the federal Nursing Workforce Diversity Program will directly benefit from President Obama's proposed Title VIII funding," noted NLN president Dr. Judith Halstead. "The League has long endorsed diversity as one of its four core values driving the NLN mission to promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the nations health."

Concluded Dr. Malone, "As the voice for nursing education, the National League for Nursing will continue to advocate for the increased investment in nurse workforce development that is essential for the prosperity and health of all Americans."

Reporters/Editors: For interview opportunities, please contact Karen R. Klestzick at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 37,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations.