A bipartisan bill introduced on Jan. 17 by U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) would address the nation’s shortages of faculty at nursing schools.
“The U.S. is facing substantial nursing shortages across the country, jeopardizing patient care and putting a strain on our healthcare system,” said Rep. Joyce, co-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus. “One major factor is the shortage of nursing faculty tasked with educating future nurses.”
The congressman cosponsored the Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act of 2024, H.R. 7002, alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and two other original cosponsors.
If enacted, H.R. 7002 would establish a pilot program to augment wages for nurse educators and support efforts to recruit and retain faculty, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“This bipartisan bill would provide critical funding for resources to address the lack of nurse educators,” Rep. Joyce said. “In doing so, we are investing in the backbone of our healthcare system — our nurses and the educators who shape them.”
The legislation would create a grant program to help close the pay gap between clinical nursing and nurse faculty roles, giving priority to programs that serve vulnerable populations and recruit and retain faculty from underrepresented backgrounds, the summary says.
“There are many qualified people who want to enter this noble profession, but nursing schools don’t have enough faculty to teach them,” said Rep. Bonamici, also a co-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus. “I’m leading the bipartisan Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act with my colleagues to close the pay gap between nurses who practice in a clinical setting and those who serve as faculty so more people can enter this essential field.”
H.R. 7002, which has been endorsed by the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, is the companion bill to the same-named S. 2815, introduced on Sept. 14, 2023 by U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).