Support Nurse Workforce Development

The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and its more than 13,000 members represent nurses who have advanced organizational, prioritization, assessment and communication skills and are leaders in coordinating care among the interprofessional health care team.

Medical-surgical nursing is practiced in several settings across the health care industry, including hospitals, outpatient settings, in homes, via telemedicine and other non-traditional settings.  As the only national professional organization representing the voice of medical-surgical nursing, our strategic mission for patients and their access to high-quality, affordable health care includes strong support for nurse workforce development.

Patient care is at risk if America does not act to increase its supply of nurses

Title 8 is vital to ensuring the quality of care you and your loved ones receive

• Patient access to high quality health care in every setting depends on the availability of highly educated registered nurses everywhere.
• Demand for care is likely to continue growing as America’s population continues to age. In addition, people in rural and many urban parts of the country face insufficient access to care.
• The supply of registered nurses is also aging, meaning that America’s educational system must produce a larger number of nurses to keep up with growing demand.

A significant part of the solution to the need for nurses is Title 8 nurse workforce funding

• Programs funded under the federal Public Health Service Act Title 8 (42 USC §§ 296 – 298d) support advanced nursing education, nurse workforce diversity, capacity for basic nursing education and practice, geriatric education, and nursing faculty development.
• Congress funded Title 8 for FY 2020 at $259 million. Citing the expiration of Title 8, the Administration’s 2021 budget request cut Title 8 by 68%. This vital, valuable program for nurse workforce development represents less than 2.5 percent of all federal funding supporting development of needed health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, and others.
• AMSN thanks Congress and the Administration for reauthorizing Title 8 through 2024 as part of the CARES Act.

AMSN Request
Fully fund Title 8 programs through FY 2021 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations processes at $278 million as the Nursing Community Coalition requests..