Kansas City needs more nurses. Congress, help fill the education pipeline | Opinion
I’ve been a nurse educator for nearly 30 years. Over that time, I’ve seen many motivated students become outstanding nurses in their communities, including here in Kansas City. I’ve also seen a growing gap between the number of nurses the U.S. needs to provide care to an aging population and the ability of nursing schools to graduate enough practice-ready nurses to keep up. That’s where Congress can step in.
If lawmakers truly want to address the root causes of the national nursing shortage, they must strengthen the education pipeline, starting with increasing funding for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs.
Despite high demand by students, there’s a nursing program faculty shortage that has left many nursing schools with limited capacity to admit students. In 2024 alone, more than 80,000 qualified applications were turned away from nursing programs because schools lacked sufficient faculty, classroom space and clinical training sites. Moreover, despite many Americans wanting to pursue nursing careers, some students struggle to afford tuition while also managing the growing costs of housing, transportation, health insurance, family obligations and more. Too many simply cannot afford to pursue — or continue — their nursing education.
These challenges are ultimately contributing to a nursing workforce shortage that is harming patient access to care and contributing to provider burnout. If we don’t grow the pipeline of new nurses entering the workforce, the U.S. is estimated to have a shortage of nearly 190,000 registered nurses each year through 2034. And that’s not even considering licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners and other nursing care providers who provide essential care at the bedside — and whom we desperately need more of, too.
To reverse these trends, we must expand and strengthen pathways so that more students can enter, succeed in and graduate from nursing school.
Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs are a proven, bipartisan solution. They strengthen the nursing education pipeline and workforce by investing in students and faculty, supporting recruitment and retention efforts, and expanding opportunities for nurses to advance their careers. Recognizing the need to prepare more nursing students for the workforce, Congress increased funding for these programs in the 2026 budget package earlier this year. As lawmakers begin work on the 2027 budget, they should continue — and deepen — that commitment in America’s future nurses by increasing federal funding for Title VIII programs.
Title VIII creates new opportunities to address the root causes of the nursing shortage. For example, the Nurse Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs support nursing students who commit to serving in high-need facilities after they graduate. Moreover, the Nurse Faculty Loan Program addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks in the pipeline: the faculty shortage. It helps nurses afford to earn an advanced degree required to teach at nursing schools. One year after graduation, 80% of Nurse Faculty Loan Program graduates were employed as nurse faculty, and 91% of those individuals held full-time nurse faculty positions.
Title VIII has a proven track record for reducing barriers to career advancement, while encouraging nurses to practice in rural and medically underserved areas. For example, the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce Program helped 6,906 advanced practice registered nurses graduate from their degree programs between the 2017 and 2022 academic years. That’s nearly 7,000 more nurses with master’s or doctoral degrees who can provide advanced care for the patients who need it most and, in turn, teach the next generation of nurses.
The challenges facing nursing education are significant, but not insurmountable, with the right targeted investments. I urge Congress to increase funding for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs in the 2027 budget so we can ensure that all learners who want to enter or advance their nursing career are able to do so. By bolstering these pathways, we can address the nursing shortage, strengthen nursing education across the country, improve patient access to care and support the long-term stability of our health care system.
James Spence is associate dean of academic programs, faculty and staff and an associate clinical professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies.