Nursing Schools Turning Away Hundreds of Applicants
Bay Area colleges and universities are "turning away hundreds" of qualified nursing students because of limited spaces in programs, the Oakland Tribune reports. The Board of Registered Nurses in a June 7 report predicted that the state will need about 3,300 additional nurses in 2010 and will have a shortage of about 55,000 nurses by 2020.
Samuel Merritt College received about 750 applications for its nursing program but had only 200 spaces. About 600 students applied for 65 spaces at California State University-East Bay, and San Francisco State University received 1,003 applications for 120 spaces.
Beatrice Yorker, nursing school director at SFSU, said, "We're very concerned because we have denied students two and three years in a row, and we're fairly certain they will choose another career option. That's a tragedy when there's such a severe nursing shortage."
Nursing school applications rose by about 27% in 2003-2004, according to the nursing board (Maitre, Oakland Tribune, 8/21).