While healthcare is considered one of the most uncertain and ever-changing industries, one things that is very certain is that nurses are in serious shortage and that is only likely to increase in the next 20 years. The current shortage is about 200,000 nurses with vacancy rates in hospitals around 8%. If nothing is done, we are looking at a frightening shortage of 500,000 nurses by 2020.

When people typically think about the reasons behind the nursing shortage, most often they attribute it to tough working conditions, poor image and low pay. And that is definitely true, at least historically. Nursing is probably one of the hardest jobs, as nurses work long hours and night shifts caring for severely ill and sometimes dying patients.

And while a lot has changed over the last few years, there is still occasional lack of respect by ignorant patients and doctors that contribute to an overall poor image. As for salaries, nursing pay was stagnant for much of the last decade. However, salaries started to pick up lately with yearly compensation reaching almost $60,000 for beginners in some cities.

As a result, many think that these factors are behind the current and expected shortage as they may discourage some students from pursuing a career in nursing. But what if I told you that nursing schools turn away more than 40,000 qualified applicants each year? The reason: lack of qualified faculty and poor funding for nursing programs.

The evidence indicates that less and less nurses are pursuing doctoral degrees and a career in academia because of low pay as compared to nurses practicing in hospitals and doctors’ offices. As a result, nursing schools are left struggling to find qualified faculty that can prepare and educate the future generation of nurses.

In order to meet the needs of our aging population and patients with chronic conditions and increased waist-lines, we need to graduate 30% more nurses every year. And that is unlikely to happen until we increase funding for nursing schools, incentivize nurses to pursue Ph.D. degrees, and increase salaries for nursing faculty.