Arizona’s population continues to grow, and with that growth and aging, the demand for healthcare is high. From local hospitals and clinics to long-term care facilities, leaders across the Greater Phoenix community are facing the challenge of finding enough resources to care for everyone.
At the heart of this issue is a national nursing shortage. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment for registered nurses will grow 5% from 2024 to 2034, which is faster than most other jobs. This growth is driven by two main factors: experienced nurses retiring or leaving the field, and a growing population that needs more medical care. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and U.S.
Census Bureau reports that the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to grow from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. As people age, they often need more specialized care for chronic health conditions, making nurses more essential than ever.
The COVID-19 pandemic also made this shortage harder by increasing stress and workloads for healthcare workers. To keep nurses in the profession and encourage new people to join, healthcare organizations and nursing schools need to focus on support, mental wellness, and flexible learning pathways.
During Arizona College of Nursing’s (AZCN) 2026 Clinical Partner Summit, local healthcare leaders emphasized that taking care of nurses is key to keeping them in the field. As Dr. Kwanza Thomas, Dean of Nursing at Arizona College of Nursing’s Atlanta said, “Resilience in nursing is rewarding, but it is also challenging. You have to be resilient but have self-care. In order to establish resilience, you need to be able to refill your cup. You can’t provide care if your cup is empty.”
Teaching students how to care for themselves starts in the classroom. Another nurse educator at AZCN focused on mental health work hard to build her students’ confidence and stress management skills early in their careers.
“Mental health is my specialty and…I talk a lot about self-care to my students. I try to drill that into them that you have to be able to take care of yourself to be able to take care of others and to be successful in the program,” she previously shared.
While interest in nursing remains strong, nursing schools face their own capacity limits. An AACN report found that U.S. nursing programs had to turn away more than 80,000 qualified applicants in 2024. This is not due to a lack of willing students, but a lack of faculty, classroom space, and spots for clinical placements.
To help solve this, AZCN is working to expand educational opportunities across all its campuses. By bringing hands-on simulation labs and modern facilities into local communities, programs can make sure there is an open seat for qualified students who want to earn their degree.
Another key piece of the puzzle is training more nurse educators, which is why AZCN is committed to developing educators. AZCN’s commitment to nursing faculty was recognized this year as it was named a 2026 National League for Nursing (NLN) Center of Excellence™ in the category of Promoting the Pedagogical
Expertise of Faculty. The national designation recognizes AZCN’s commitment to developing nursing faculty and advancing teaching excellence to prepare the next generation of nurses.
In addition, nursing programs also need to fit the real lives of students today. More than half of nursing students work shifts or balance family responsibilities while in school. While traditional clinical rotations are limited to weekday shifts, we know that healthcare happens 24/7. By partnering with local healthcare facilities to offer evening and weekend clinical spots, AZCN can give students greater flexibility while making better use of available clinical capacity.
Other ways we make nursing accessible to anyone with a call to care is through focusing on things such as:
We offer financial aid and a number of scholarships at AZCN to help lower tuition costs for our students.
We provide built-in support, including free online tutoring, student achievement coaches, and National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) Success Specialists to help prep students for their exams, so they do not have to study alone.
We deliver high standards, hands-on training, and strong faculty support across each one of our campuses nationwide.
When nursing schools adapt to meet community needs, the results will follow. Graduates enter the local workforce ready to work, achieving strong job placement rates right after graduation, and helping local hospitals fill open positions quickly.
As the Greater Phoenix area continues to grow, investing in our nurse educators and future healthcare workers remains important. By expanding clinical options and supporting nursing students during their education, we can bridge the workforce gap and build a stronger healthcare system in Arizona.
Amber Kool, DNP, MBA, MSN, RN serves as Associate Vice President of Assessment and Development at Arizona College of Nursing
