LINCOLN- Nursing students have claimed up only $1.1 million of a $5 million scholarship program, and some are wondering if the program needs to be changed to help more students. A year ago, the Nebraska Legislature allocated $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the scholarships in hopes of addressing a chronic shortage of nurses that is expected to grow to 5,400 by 2025.

But the program was aimed at helping students in short-term training, and it has helped only about 400 nursing students. If the $5 million isn’t fully allocated by the end of next year, the remainder must be returned to the feds. The concerns have advocates for nurses wondering if the state should amend the program so the funds are used as intended.

State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, who introduced the scholarship measure as part of LB1014 in 2022, said he, too, was surprised that more of the scholarship funds hadn’t been awarded. Some employers pointed to the program not being available to traditional nursing program students. Sen. Dorn said it is probably something that will need to be addressed in the 2024 session.

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