Citation: Glazer, G., Alexandre, C. (November 14, 2008) Legislative: Nursing Shortage: A Public Health Issue for All OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 14 No. 1. Available: www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Columns/Legislative/NursingShortage.aspx That there is a shortage of nurses in the United States today should surprise no one. The scope of the current shortage of nurses at the bedside is well documented. In a recent article in Health Affairs, Auerbach, Buerhaus and Staiger (2007) estimated that by the year 2020 the shortage of nurses in the United States may well reach 340,000. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) cited a 2007 report from the American Hospital Association describing a national registered nurse vacancy rate of 8.1% amounting to 116,000 unfilled positions (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008a). Failure to solve the shortage may have dire consequences for the people who entrust themselves to us for healthcare. Articles in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association consistently cite the need for a staffing mix with a sufficient proportion of registered nurses to ensure better patient outcomes (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalski, & Silber, 2002; Needleman, Buerhaus, Mattke, Stewart, & Zelevinsky, 2002; Tourangeau et al., 2007). Although as nurses we are likely to agree that resources must be found to increase our overall numbers in the workforce, we certainly do not agree on the most appropriate educational preparation of the entry-level nurse. Recent studies have indicated that a higher proportion of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in the staffing mix lowers mortality rates for hospitalized patients (Aiken, Clarke, Cheung, Sloane, & Silber, 2003; Tourangeau et al.; Friese, Lake, Aiken, Silber, & Sochalski, 2008). Yet the percentage of nurses with a baccalaureate degree remains well below that of of associate degree programs. Exacerbating the nursing shortage is the concurrent shortage of faculty at our nursing schools. Over 42,000 qualified applicants were denied entry into baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2006 because of insufficient numbers of faculty (AACN, 2008b). Obviously we cannot address the nursing shortage without also addressing the shortage of faculty in our schools. Hinshaw (2001) described the circuitous course of the shortage in a 2001 article in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing noting, shortage of nurses requires the educational programs of the profession to supply more graduates. But the shortage of nursing faculty will limit student enrollments and likely decrease the number of graduates (p.1). Over seventy percent of nursing schools responding to a 2007 AACN survey reported turning away qualified applicants from baccalaureate programs. These same schools reported a faculty vacancy rate of 8.8% equal to 2.2 vacancies per school. The vast majority of these vacancies were positions preferring a doctoral degree (AACN, 2008b). Contributing to the faculty shortage is the continuing failure to graduate sufficient numbers of nurses from master's and doctoral programs. Livsey, Campbell, and Green (2007) cite AACN data indicating that despite an increase in the number of nurses enrolling in graduate programs, the graduation rate of doctoral nursing students has remained flat, averaging only 406 students each year from 1995 through 2005. The federal government has long recognized the crucial position nurses hold in the healthcare system by supporting the funding of nursing education in the United States (US). For example, the federal government created the U. S. Cadet Corps in 1943 to provide support for nursing education (Willever-Farr & Parascandola, 1994). In 1963 the Surgeon General's Consultant Group on Nursing identified an impending shortage of nurses and prompted Congress to pass the Nurse Training Act which added Title VIII to the Public Service Act. …