U.S. Expands Nurse Training Funding

Yesterday, during his speech to the ANA House of Delegates, President Obama announced that the administration has taken steps to speed up training for nurse practitioners.

The president thanked nurses for advocating for healthcare reform legislation but said "there is more work to do."

"And that's why today my administration is announcing a number of investments to expand the primary care workforce," the president said. "This includes funding to allow students training part-time to become nurse practitioners to start training full-time. We want to speed up the process where folks go from the classroom into the exam room."

The president said the federal government will "provide resources" for clinics operated by registered nurses and nurse practitioners.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that the federal government will spend $250 million in programs to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other care providers.

The money is the first allotment from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, created by the new health-care law, the Obama administration said in a statement. It includes $168 million to train 500 new primary-care physicians over the next five years, $30 million to encourage 600 nursing students to attend school full-time and complete their education, and $32 million to create 600 new physician assistants.