Sen. Richard Roth Proposes Vital Legislation to Tackle California’s Nursing Shortage Crisis

Sacramento — To help address California’s shortage of registered nurses Sen. Richard D Roth (D-Riverside) has introduced Senate Bill 895 which creates a pilot program that authorizes the chancellor of the Community Colleges to select up to 15 community college districts, with existing nationally accredited Associate Degree in Nursing or ADN, programs to offer a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing or BSN degree to 25% of existing ADN classes, or 35 students, whichever is greater. 

“For decades, California has suffered from a shortage of Registered Nurses, and this problem has been exacerbated in recent years due to the pandemic and it’s expected to worsen due to an increase in RN retirements. While the nursing shortage is a national problem, it is particularly acute here in our state — ranking 40th out of 50 states. A key factor contributing to this crisis is that California’s nursing school capacity has not been able to keep up with demand. In 2018, more than 85% of hospitals in California reported that the demand for RN’s was greater than the available supply — a situation that has not improved. But there is a path forward to help solve this problem and that path cuts right through our California Community Colleges. Our SB 895 creates a pilot program allowing community colleges to offer a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which is increasingly the industry standard, and a requirement for employment in our hospitals,” said Senator Roth.

For more than 40 years, the community college Associate Degree in Nursing has been the basic credential requirement for employment as an RN in a healthcare facility; and the California State University, the University of California, and private nursing schools have historically awarded BSNs to those who elect to pursue a four-year degree.

However, the healthcare workforce requirements are changing — hospitals are increasingly preferring and requiring a BSN degree for their nurses. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine issued its “Future of Nursing” report which contained a set of recommendations, including the recommendation that the proportion of RN’s with a BSN degree in health care facilities increase to 80% by 2020. In California, a 2021 Health Impact report found that 18% of California hospitals surveyed stated that a BSN was required for employment — twice the percentage noted in 2017 – and 54.3% reported a preference for hiring BSNs.

The way to bridge the BSN gap in this State is to utilize existing ADN programs at community colleges to assist CSU and UC in addressing this shortage. This bill would offer a way to close this gap by taking advantage of existing ADN programs in the state. With the difference between an ADN and a BSN being only an additional 30 units of coursework, several ADN programs are well-positioned to expand their offerings to BSN degrees.

By operating within the existing ADN program authorization, the program will not require additional supervised clinical placements and is intended to be cost-neutral.