Who Will Care for America? The Nursing Shortage, Faculty Crisis, and the Cost of Inaction?
It is no secret that American healthcare is in a state of crisis. I have listened to national leaders, read articles, and attended meetings in search of solutions over the last year. Technology, whether artificial intelligence or robots to replace human care, is frequently cited as a “silver bullet” in these conversations. But while the leaders may have changed, the core problem has not: there are too few nurses, too few nursing professors, and too little investment in the human beings who keep our health care system going.
The nursing shortage is the symptom of a broken pipeline that starts in nursing schools and ends at the bedside.
The Nursing Shortage Is Real—and Growing
America’s healthcare demand is about to explode. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be over the age of 65, a population that needs more frequent, complex, and long-term care. On top of that, chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia are on the rise, so not only are patients living longer, they’re living sicker.
At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates over 193,000 registered nurse job openings annually through 2032, due to burnout, retirements, and workforce churn. Hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community health systems are already scrambling to keep up with safe staffing levels, and the gap is only widening
Why Nursing Schools Can’t Keep Up
I’ve come across many health care administrators who think that the problem we have is that too few people want to be nurses. The opposite is true.
The problem is that enough people are interested in nursing and qualified to be nurses. The problem is there aren’t enough spaces in nursing schools to accept them all. Tens of thousands of qualified, well-prepared nursing applicants are turned away by schools each year because of a lack of space, not because of a lack of grades or work ethic. But the reason these schools have limited space is not because they’re too small or underfunded. The reason is they simply need more professors to teach all the potential students. As reported by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, in one year alone, over 65,000 qualified applicants were denied admission into nursing school “due to shortages of faculty, classroom space, and clinical placement sites.”
And here’s the most important part for this piece: The #1 problem is the nursing faculty shortage.
The Nursing Faculty Crisis
Nursing faculty teach future nurses. They’re also among the lowest-paid healthcare professionals. The average nursing professor makes $15,000–$25,000 less per year than a nurse in the field. That’s even after a postgraduate degree and for bearing the burden of patient safety on their shoulders.
Naturally, few nurses want to go into teaching. Is it worth pursuing a master’s or doctorate if it means earning less money? Countless faculty positions sit open around the country, and nursing schools must cap enrollment (at a time when hospitals beg them not to). Without faculty, there would be no students. Without students, there would be no future nurses.
Nurses and Educators Are Underpaid Across the Industry
Nurses and nurse educators have been the lowest-paid professionals compared to others with similar education and accountability. No matter the level of nursing, whether you are a registered nurse, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist, a pharmacist, physician assistant, or physical therapist makes more money with their respective degrees.
Subsequently, why do we have to accept that we are worth less than others?
Nurses advocate and coordinate for our patients 24/7. We monitor their well-being, whether it’s a baby who was just born or an elderly person with failing health. We are the front line who figure out the puzzle when it all seems to be falling apart.
Low nurse pay results in burnout, early retirements, or people leaving the profession altogether. For the students we educate as nurses, it means fewer teachers. For patients, it means fewer caregivers.
What the Government Can Do
This crisis requires national action:
- Increase federal funding for nursing workforce programs through HRSA
- Expand loan forgiveness and scholarship programs for nurse educators
- Support legislation that closes the salary gap between faculty and clinical nurses
- Invest in public nursing education infrastructure and simulation capacity
Healthcare access is a public good. Supporting nurses is not optional—it is essential.
What Schools and Healthcare Organizations Must Do
Educational institutions and healthcare owners also bear responsibility:
- Increase salaries for nurses and nursing faculty to remain competitive
- Create career pathways from bedside to academia
- Expand simulation and clinical partnerships
- Improve nurse retention through safe staffing and fair compensation
Investment in nurses is an investment in patient safety, quality outcomes, and system sustainability.
Why Robots Are Not the Answer
Technology can assist nurses—but it cannot replace them. Robots cannot teach clinical judgment, provide emotional support, advocate ethically, or mentor students. Without human nurses and educators, no amount of automation will save the healthcare system.
The solution is not replacement—it is respect, retention, and reinvestment.
Final Thought
The question is no longer whether America can afford to invest in nurses and educators.
The real question is: Can America afford not to?
References:
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2024). Nursing shortage fact sheet. https://www.aacnnursing.org
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Occupational outlook handbook: Registered nurses. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov
Health Resources and Services Administration. (2023). National projections of supply and demand for registered nurses. https://bhw.hrsa.gov
Yordy, K. D. (2024). The shortage of academic nurse educators. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 29(2). https://ojin.nursingworld.org
Written By,
Juram Gorriceta MPA BSN RN, LSSHP, Simulation Clinical Educator
Healthcarebeyond 
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