The American Colleges of Nursing projects a shortage of 230,000 nurses by 2031, a figure that spells trouble for the country’s aging, increasingly sick population. Sean Burke, president of healthcare for Ascend Learning, joins Justin to examine the challenges facing the nursing pipeline—including workforce attrition, lack of professional preparedness, and constraints to educational capacity and access—and explore how providers, academia, and the government can contribute to a much-needed solution.

Justin and Sean discuss why it’s worth expanding the nursing pipeline to include more opportunities for allied health professionals, students from diverse backgrounds, and career switchers. They also raise questions about nursing’s emerging trends: Are travel nurses a double-edged sword for financially strained providers? Can simulations and generative AI help nursing schools do more with less faculty? And are coaches and academic partnerships the key to getting students ready for a career that’s more demanding than ever?

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