Letter to the editor
To the editor:
Our nation is facing a crisis a shortage of nurses. New Jersey will be especially hard hit by this situation due to our large population. Currently, the average age of a nurse is 44 and only 9 percent of registered nurses are younger than 30. The Journal of American Medicine has determined that by the year 2010 there will be an insufficient number of nurses available to meet the needs of our communities. If we do not take action now, by 2006 New Jersey will be unable to fill 14,000 nursing positions.
Coupled with this obvious problem is the fact that our baby boomers are now approaching the period in their lives where they will be most needing the care of qualified nurses. This is an issue that we cannot afford to ignore The men and women who enter the field of nursing provide a unique service that is essential to our quality of life. We cannot risk a loss of professional nurses in our state.
Recently, we have introduced legislation (A3193) that would create the Excellence in Nursing Scholarship Program. This scholarship program would be created to provide undergraduate scholarship up to $10,000 a year to qualified students. The number of students going into the profession has declined 12 percent over the last few years. We feel that by providing an incentive to students considering nursing, this probable shortfall could be minimized.
The qualifications would be straight forward. An applicant must:
be a resident of New Jersey and live in the state while participating in the program;
be enrolled in an approved course of study;
maintain a 3.0 grade-point average;
complete an internship at a New Jersey employee prior to completion of studies;
agree to work in the State of New Jersey one full year for each year that they participated in the program.
Along with the creation of this scholarship program, we must also make strides to educate our youth about the rewards this profession can offer. The field of nursing offers those interested a myriad of opportunities that can be tailored to the interests of each individual. It is time that the state of New Jersey steps up and recognizes the depth of this problem. Now is the time to act. We must be proactive rather than reactive. Nurses are the backbone of the health care industry in New Jersey. They are the largest group of health care workers. If their number diminish, the effects will be far reaching.
If you have any questions about this piece of legislation, please contact us at either (609) 587-4644 or (732) 605-9090.
Gary Guear
Linda Greenstein
State Assembly members
District 14