MONROE - Nurses who opt to go into education to train future nurses could have school loans forgiven under legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Tammy Baldwin.
Baldwin introduced the legislation along with the bill's main sponsor Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa at the end of July. The legislation was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No debate on the bill has been scheduled.
The Latham-Baldwin bill would provide repayment for student loans for nurses who earn a graduate degree and commit to working as a faculty member in a nursing program.
Baldwin said in a news release that the bill is in response to a serious shortage of nurses - about 200,000. That number is expected to grow fivefold, reaching a shortage of 1 million nurses by 2020.
There is no shortage of people interested in pursuing a career in nursing, Baldwin said. Rather, the problem is a shortage of qualified faculty members in the country's nursing schools. Due to a shortage in faculty members, one in three qualified nursing school applicants is turned away.
The proposal would help, but is not a cure-all, according to one local nursing professional.
There's two issues that contribute to a shortage of nursing instructors, said Paula Elmer, vice president and chief nurse executive at Monroe Clinic.
First, there's the cost of obtaining an advanced degree.
"If as a nurse, I really wanted to get my masters, this will help me get there," she said.
But the second issue is the pay disparity between working in a clinical practice setting and a teaching setting.
"It's quite a salary difference," Elmer said, estimating clinical nurses can make about 20 percent more than nursing instructors.
The measure is helpful in that it addresses the first issue by helping to pay for their advanced degrees, but it doesn't solve the salary issue that could potentially keep a teacher teaching.
In the clinical setting, the shortage in available nurses drives the market.
"We have to pay more and more" to keep positions staffed, Elmer said. "Something like that is going to have to happen" in the teaching setting to keep qualified instructors.
So far, Monroe Clinic has been able to keep adequate staff despite the nursing shortage.
"We always have openings, but we're in a lot better situation than we were two years ago," Elmer said.
The facility recruits recent nursing graduates from Blackhawk Technical College and Highland Community College in Freeport. The hardest area to fill openings is for critical care and emergency room nurses. These positions require more experience and are paid a premium, she said.
Monroe Clinic has a loan repayment program to encourage nurses to seek advanced education.
"More and more organizations are doing more loan repayment programs" to attract and retain nurses, she said.
The Clinic also participates in residency for new graduates that helps them transition into practice. The program has been shown to make it more likely nurses will stay in the job and in the profession, Elmer said.
Those programs are helping, she said. Likewise, Baldwin's legislation is a step in the right direction - but only a step.
"Long term, there needs to be another solution," Elmer said.
Baldwin introduced the legislation along with the bill's main sponsor Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa at the end of July. The legislation was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No debate on the bill has been scheduled.
The Latham-Baldwin bill would provide repayment for student loans for nurses who earn a graduate degree and commit to working as a faculty member in a nursing program.
Baldwin said in a news release that the bill is in response to a serious shortage of nurses - about 200,000. That number is expected to grow fivefold, reaching a shortage of 1 million nurses by 2020.
There is no shortage of people interested in pursuing a career in nursing, Baldwin said. Rather, the problem is a shortage of qualified faculty members in the country's nursing schools. Due to a shortage in faculty members, one in three qualified nursing school applicants is turned away.
The proposal would help, but is not a cure-all, according to one local nursing professional.
There's two issues that contribute to a shortage of nursing instructors, said Paula Elmer, vice president and chief nurse executive at Monroe Clinic.
First, there's the cost of obtaining an advanced degree.
"If as a nurse, I really wanted to get my masters, this will help me get there," she said.
But the second issue is the pay disparity between working in a clinical practice setting and a teaching setting.
"It's quite a salary difference," Elmer said, estimating clinical nurses can make about 20 percent more than nursing instructors.
The measure is helpful in that it addresses the first issue by helping to pay for their advanced degrees, but it doesn't solve the salary issue that could potentially keep a teacher teaching.
In the clinical setting, the shortage in available nurses drives the market.
"We have to pay more and more" to keep positions staffed, Elmer said. "Something like that is going to have to happen" in the teaching setting to keep qualified instructors.
So far, Monroe Clinic has been able to keep adequate staff despite the nursing shortage.
"We always have openings, but we're in a lot better situation than we were two years ago," Elmer said.
The facility recruits recent nursing graduates from Blackhawk Technical College and Highland Community College in Freeport. The hardest area to fill openings is for critical care and emergency room nurses. These positions require more experience and are paid a premium, she said.
Monroe Clinic has a loan repayment program to encourage nurses to seek advanced education.
"More and more organizations are doing more loan repayment programs" to attract and retain nurses, she said.
The Clinic also participates in residency for new graduates that helps them transition into practice. The program has been shown to make it more likely nurses will stay in the job and in the profession, Elmer said.
Those programs are helping, she said. Likewise, Baldwin's legislation is a step in the right direction - but only a step.
"Long term, there needs to be another solution," Elmer said.