WASHINGTON — Proposed federal budget cuts could put nearly seven million dollars in nursing education and research funding at risk.
The Public News Service is reporting the U.S. House Appropriations Committee has moved to eliminate the National Institute of Nursing Research and most Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs.
Ramona Benkert, dean of the College of Nursing at Wayne State University, says removing federal support would weaken the pipeline of future nurse educators, saying, quote, “The shortage for faculty is worse than the shortage for nursing. When you don’t have funding to facilitate individuals to come back to graduate education to become nursing faculty, it worsens the downstream effects of fewer nurses coming out with an undergraduate degree,” unquote.
Benkert also warns that eliminating the nursing research institute would undermine research that directly informs patient care nationwide, not just in Michigan.
An American Hospital Association poll found nearly two-thirds of nurses say they already care for too many patients, with most reporting staffing shortages are harming patient care.