Special Report: $20 Million Invested in Nursing’s Future

   When your mother is a nurse and you are Vice Chairman of the Board for Johnson & Johnson, corporate responsibility calls for more than a Band Aid(R), as James Lenehan can affirm. In response to the growing shortage of nurses, Lenehan, with enthusiastic creative and financial backing from his company and the support of numerous professional nursing organizations, introduced The Campaign for Nursing's Future last month at kick-off events in Washington, DC and New York City. This multiyear, multimillion dollar initiative is designed to energize interest in nursing, provide information to prospects, and encourage nurses to be advocates for their profession.

   Developed after reviewing research and conferring with healthcare leaders and nursing organizations, the Campaign features:
   -national advertising that includes print and television ads (two aired during the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics)
    -scholarships and awards
    -recruitment materials geared toward 20,000 middle schools and high schools -retention programs
   -a new website (www.discovernursing.com).

   An advisory group of nursing leaders will continue to direct future efforts.

Beyond Cyclic

   Professional shortages often run in cycles and nursing is no exception... until now. The steady trickle of decline in the number of nurses threatens to become a hemorrhage unless efforts such as The Campaign for Nursing's Future can reverse the trend. Currently, a shortage of 126,000 nurses exists in hospitals - a figure that is projected to increase to more than 400,000 by 2020.

   Several phenomena ensure that the nursing shortage will persist unless steps are taken to reverse it. Baby boomers are aging, promising to create a large segment of the population that will need greater levels of medical attention. Nurses, too, are aging. Nursing school graduation rates have dropped. Fewer faculty are available, so baccalaureate nursing programs are unable to accept many of their qualified candidates.

Public Perceptions

  The shortage raises concerns for the future of healthcare among patients as well as providers. According to recent polls, Americans are concerned about the impact of the nursing shortage on their personal health and the quality of patient care. They almost unanimously acknowledge the credibility of nurses' opinions on health matters. Almost all would have a positive reaction to a family member's or close friend's decision to become a nurse and of those who have considered nursing careers, many do so because nurses care about people and want to help others. Yet most Americans are unaware of nursing opportunities beyond patient care and they have little knowledge of nursing salaries.

The Campaign for Nursing's Future

   With this knowledge in hand, The Campaign for Nursing's Future was developed and implemented. "We are determined to help stimulate wider interest in this challenging and rewarding career field," says Lenehan. "We regard nursing as the essence of caring and it is critical to help resolve the deepening nursing shortage in America."

   Dr. Peter Buerhaus, Associate Dean of Nursing at Vanderbilt and a leading researcher on the nursing shortage, says, "The biggest problem is that people are unaware of the array of opportunities and rewards in nursing today. "We need to get the message out to parents, teachers, counselors, and above all, students at all levels." A huge step in communicating that message are the Hallmark card-style television ads that entreat the viewer to, "Be a nurse."

   The Campaign for Nursing's Future is remarkable in its scope and potential. Lenehan says that Johnson & Johnson is living up to the first part of its credo, which states, "We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses, and patients... who use our products and services." One might wonder if he also isn't following the advice he heard from his mother.