Nursing is STEM:
Growth and Diversification of the Professional Nursing Workforce.
Nursing is STEM is a national coalition founded in 2023 aimed at having the academic and professional discipline adopted broadly by educators, policy makers, healthcare providers, and the public domain as STEM designated to accelerate the growth of the professional workforce.
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Growth and Diversification of the Professional Nursing Workforce via STEM Designation.
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The nursing shortage is severely impacting U.S. healthcare and faces additional threats from the aging population, burnout and early retirements.
100K
Nurses left profession during COVID with add’l 610K intending to by 2027; NCSBN
200K to 400K
The U.S. gap in nurses available for direct patient care, equating to a 10 to 20 percent gap; McKinsey
5.3%
Decline in nursing school applications, 2022; AACN
19.4%
Percent of nurses from minority backgrounds. Meanwhile, more than 40% of U.S. population identify as people of color, 2023; AACN
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023) projects 200K+ openings for RNs each year through 2031 – while college enrollments are on the decline.
Simple action can dramatically expand the available workforce of trained, diverse nurses educated at U.S. universities.
1 Categorize Nursing as STEM
Nursing is grounded in the biological and behavioral sciences. It is a rigorous scientific field. Government agencies such as the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) and national non-profit agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) maintain different list of what is considered STEM. Nursing needs to uniformly be designated as STEM across agencies.
2 Unlock domestic funding / support
Both government and private funding sources are specifically set aside aside to prepare the next generation of young people – from K-12 to higher ed – with scientific and mathematically literacy in order to pursue careers in critical fields By designating nursing as STEM, direct funding can be unlocked for Americans to pursue Nursing as one of these careers.
3 Leverage diverse talent
U.S. educated international students are an important pipeline for the future of our healthcare system who can contribute additional capacity and diversity to the available nursing workforce nationally - made possible at scale with Nursing as a STEM designated field.
1 Categorizing Nursing as STEM
While the Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans Affairs recognize nursing as a STEM field, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies such as the National Science Foundation omits nursing as a STEM field.
Agencies assess whether a degree is generally considered to be a STEM degree by recognized authorities, including input from educational institutions, governmental entities and non-governmental entities. Agencies also reviews the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) definition of the Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code and any supporting material submitted by the nominator such as the required curriculum for the degree and the extent to which it is comprised of core STEM disciplines as well as student involvement in research, innovation and development of new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science or natural sciences (including physical, biological and agricultural sciences).
Within the AACN educational objectives for Nursing lies a strong foundational knowledge of STEM-based education. Foundational STEM elements in nursing education include, but are not limited to: chemistry, biology, microbiology, informatics and technology, statistics, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, and the social and behavioral sciences of sociology, and developmental lifespan psychology.
Nursing fits squarely within the definition of STEM
Sample of STEM Coded Health Programs by DHS
Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
Bilogical and Physical Sciences
Medical Science/
Scientist
Environmental Health
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Pharmacoeconomics/
Pharmaceutical Economics
Anatomy
Human Biology
Biomechanics
Bioinformatics
Physiology, Pathology, and Related Sciences
Categorizing Nursing a STEM field additionally helps rectify a long-standing perception that women are not pursuing rigorous math and science fields. More women graduate with nursing degrees than the next 30 STEM-coded degrees combined. (IPEDS)
Nurses utilize scientific principles, mathematical concepts, and cutting-edge technology to conduct assessments, make diagnoses, and plan the care of patients. They employ evidence-based interventions to address illnesses, sustain human life, and, ultimately, assess the outcomes of the care delivered to patients.
2 Unlock funding and support
By designating Nursing as STEM, hundreds of millions of dollars can be unlocked for Americans to pursue Nursing as a career.
$578M
Invested in STEM education by 2020 by the US Department of Education
79%
Employment growth in STEM occupations over the last three decades
$1.4B
White House budget request for the National Science Foundation to accelerate STEM education and workforce development
90+
Over 90 public and private sector organizations from across the country have made specific commitments to enhance STEM education. These commitments range from local grassroots efforts to initiatives that are national in scope.
“The importance of STEM education is about so much more than just jobs. STEM fields demand curious individuals eager to solve the world’s most pressing problems.”
- Bridget Long, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education
3 Leverage Diverse Talent
In addition to empowering American nursing students, international students educated in the U.S. provide a new, diverse pipeline of nurses
While there are 1M int’l students in the U.S., fewer than 8,000 (less than 1%) pursue nursing degrees due to roadblocks that are solvable.
Challenge #1
Foreign educated nurses can only obtain U.S. licensure if they come from U.S. equivalent nursing education systems (e.g., Philippines, Canada).
Challenge #2
The limitations of overseas education and U.S. appetite for expanding visas presents a challenge for both expanding the diversity and volume of new nurses.
Challenge #3
U.S. providers prefer U.S. educated and trained talent. Currently, <2,000 U.S. educated, foreign born nurses enter the ranks of new nurses each year. (Department of Education)
International Students can work in the U.S. for a defined period of 1-3 Years following each degree earned.
Unless pursuing a degree with STEM designation, candidates from aspirant socioeconomic backgrounds cannot afford to be educated in the U.S.
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Post completion OPT (Optional Practical Training) is a program overseen by USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) that allows eligible int’l students on F-1 student visas to gain practical work experience related to their field of study for 12 months following the completion of their studies. OPT provides an opportunity for students to apply the knowledge and skills they've acquired in their academic programs to real-world work situations, enhancing their education and career prospects.
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STEM OPT (Optional Practical Training) allows eligible int’l students who have completed a degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) field to gain practical work experience in their field of study. STEM OPT is an extension of the regular OPT program and provides students with an additional 24 months of work authorization, totaling 36 months of potential practical training.
Starting with the clearly defined, high impact list at DHS we are seeking all agencies to uniformly and officially give nursing it’s overdue recognition as a STEM field.
Why Nursing should be added to the DHS STEM list.
Increases the supply of diverse domestic and international talent in nursing and nursing education.
1
Supports U.S. universities and communities through new funding and diverse populations.
2
Expands nursing’s contribution to STEM in scientific research and healthcare informatics.
3
Rectifying the classification of Nursing as a STEM field is the swiftest, lowest friction way to add diverse domestic and international nurses into the labor pool requiring no financial expenditure from the government and no legislative action.
Coalition support from leadership and faculty of organizations, including:
Support the Coalition.
Help us to increase the size and diversity of the available nursing workforce and support the healthcare industry by correctly categorizing Nursing as a STEM-related field.