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Administration and the Texas Lege deserve kudos in cementing funding for the School of Nursing

Written by The Shorthorn editorial board

Tuesday, 23 June 2009 02:12 PM

Editorial Roundup

The issue: The university’s nursing program will receive $5 million from the state appropriations bill, which will allow the school to double its enrollment.

We suggest: UTA and the Texas Legislature continue to commit to decrease the nursing shortage through more funding.

Each year thousands of qualified applicants are turned away from Texas nursing schools when the need for nurses across the U.S. keeps growing. UTA’s School of Nursing will soon help to decrease that shortage. The program will receive $5 million from the state appropriations bill, enabling the school to double its enrollment from 400 to 800 over the next few years.

The university and the Texas Legislature should be commended for doing what they can to decrease the nursing shortage. They should continue to work together to fund the expanding nursing school even further.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that from 2006 to 2016, employment of registered nurses will grow 23 percent.

It’s going to be difficult to supply the country with qualified nurses if they can’t get into school. A nursing faculty shortage is one main reason why schools have turned away qualified applicants, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The $5 million will be used to increase the number of faculty, allowing more students into the program.

Although an increase in 400 students to the nursing program may not seem substantial, any increase in nursing enrollment helps. And the student nurses will receive some of the best training Texas.

UTA’s Smart Hospital allows nursing students to experience training in a simulated hospital environment. Two of the three phases of the hospital have been completed. With more funding, the 13,000-square-foot hospital will become a 100,000-square-foot health system.

But without the students and faculty to fill this state-of-the-art facility, there’s no point in building it.

UTA needs to continue to push for state funding in the next Legislature to further increase nursing student enrollment, and to better train them.

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 10:39 AM )

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