nurse shortage pennsylvania

Nursing shortage can be fixed by speeding up the licensing process

Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Pennsylvania is currently enduring one ofthe worst nurse shortages in the nation. A shocking one in four nursing positions went unfilled last year — a trend experts predict will worsen, with an estimated shortfall of 20,000 nurses by 2026.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is doing little to address this crisis. The Pennsylvania State Department recently announced an end to the professional licensing waivers that allowed nurses to work more independently during the pandemic. Meanwhile, licensing delays at the State Board of Nursing continue to grow, and legislation to expand access to nurse practitioners remains stalled in the state Senate.

No wonder so many medical professionals are ready to call it quits.

Atissue is whether nurse practitioners should have the ability to see patients without a collaborative agreement with a physician. Those agreements are expensive, and there is no evidence that they improve the quality of care.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer