New report quantifies CT nurse training – Growing, but we still need more

In 2022, Connecticut schools of nursing were at or near enrollment capacity, according to the latest analysis by the CT Center for Nursing Workforce and the CT Data Collaborative. This is a good thing, because we need more nurses.

At 79,822 RNs in Connecticut, nurses are by far the largest class of healthcare workers in our state, but that isn’t filling the need. Unfortunately, Connecticut nursing schools turn away thousands of eligible applicants because we don’t have enough capacity to train them all.

The report finds that, in 2022, most nurses (67%) enrolled in Bachelor’s programs that lead to Registered Nurse licensure. But other routes to nursing were also active, including shorter Associate Degree programs (23% of total enrollment), Accelerated/Second Bachelor’s Degree programs (8.5%), and Master’s Entry to RN programs (1.5%).

Thankfully, capacity is growing in Connecticut’s most popular option – RN Bachelor’s programs – with the entry of new programs and expansions of others, according to the new report. The rate limiting step in nurse training is attracting and retaining faculty. The report found that 62% of full time faculty were age 50 or older and 27% were 60 or older in 2022. Two thirds (64%) have a doctoral degree. That year there were 37 vacant faculty positions at RN programs.

There is a racial/ethnic disparity between Connecticut’s nursing faculty and our state’s population. In 2022, 85% of full time and 76% of part time Connecticut RN program nursing faculty were white, while whites made up 66% of the state’s total population. This mirrors the racial disparities between RNs and other healthcare professions in Connecticut and the total state population.

The state is pursuing several options to address the shortage of nurses and other healthcare professionals in Connecticut.