There are many hot trends in nursing right now in regards to the profession’s education, training and expectations. The education trends are particularly interesting and relevant to many potential nurses thinking of entering the field as well as those currently enrolled. The nursing field is changing and evolving. Older nurses are retiring, and a new generation is training to replace them. What will these trends in education mean for the next generation? It’s hard to tell so far, but the following are a few interesting points to look at which may help shed light on this subject:


Decrease in Enrollment

One interesting trend that many nursing educators have noticed in the last year is a drop-off in enrollment of new nursing students at various schools around the nation. The Adelphi University School of Nursing in Garden City, New York saw a decline in new applications, for example, which some experts attribute to a decline in confidence that new nurses will be able to get a job. The economy is definitely a factor in higher education for all fields, and experts across the board have attributed this type of declining confidence to reduced applications for a variety of programs at colleges around the nation. Most data still suggests, however, that there is a shortage of qualified nurses throughout the nation. There just might not be a shortage of nurses in more desirable places to live, which is the problem.


Easier, Newer, and More Advanced Systems

On a brighter note, there are also systems coming into place that will make it easier to apply for nursing school. For example, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing recently unveiled a central application service that simplifies the process by making it possible to apply for numerous programs at the same time. Several technological advancements have also been made which enhance the educational process for nurses recently. These include more advanced simulation systems that provide a more realistic clinical experience for nurses in training. This can never completely replace actual experiences with patients, but schools such as NYU are using these for as much as half of their nurses’ clinical experience training.


Growing Number of Field Specialties

Another one of the hot trends in nursing education at the moment is a growing number of specialties in the field. Forensic nursing, for example, is becoming a very popular area of specialization. Trends like this show that the field of nursing is diversifying, which means many new opportunities for the nursing students of today and tomorrow.

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