Inside STAT: Go national to solve the country’s looming nursing shortage

The pandemic has underscored a problem that existed long before Covid-19 burst onto the scene: a looming nursing shortage. More than half a million nurses are expected to retire by 2022, for instance, and the authors of a new STAT First Opinion argue unneeded regulations are further hampering efforts to quickly get more nurses into the health care sector. They write that health care's adaptation to the pandemic — like with the quick uptake of telemedicine — should serve as an encouraging sign that the field could similarly work quickly to undo burdensome policies. For instance, nursing licensing exams and requirements vary state-by-state, but putting in place a nationalized program could mean that nurses could more easily move from state to state and practice in areas of high need. Read more here.