Texas faces a shortage of an estimated 22,000 nurses and if it fails to graduate more nurses as the population grows that shortfall will reach 70,000 by 2020, according to an Associated Press report. To bring supply back up to answer the demand, the Texas Legislature moved to approve a measure that would provide rewards to nursing schools with a graduation rate over 70% and more money to hire more teachers to train those wanting a career in nursing. "That's one of the biggest kinks in the pipeline, is lack of faculty," said State Representative Donna Howard, a Democrat and former nurse who is supporting the bill. "Nurses with advanced degrees can typically make at least $20,000 more working in a clinical setting rather than in academia." Howard told the AP that in 2008, Texas nursing schools turned away some 8,000 qualified applicants due to a lack of teaching staff. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses constitute the largest health care occupation, with 2.5 million jobs, and are projected to generate roughly 587,000 new jobs over the 2006 to 2016 period, one of the largest growth rates among all occupations.  |