Introduction
This review explores literature about the nursing education pipeline from 2014 to 2025 and seeks to identify gaps that may need to be filled in the future. Highlighting literature gaps provides stakeholders with opportunities to further study the bottlenecks that have hobbled efforts to improve access to nursing education, which fuels nursing workforce growth and development. This review also sheds light on where the literature clusters geographically. In doing so, researchers can explore where nursing education pipeline issues are under-examined, which are often the same places that have the most severe needs for educational and regulatory improvement.
Literature about the nursing education pipeline is vast and encompasses numerous topics. The scope of this review is focused on three specific pipeline topics: recruitment and retention, nursing student attrition, and nursing educator shortages. Relevant research was identified using keyword searches in library databases available through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Temple University, and Google Scholar.
The nursing education pipeline serves as an important indicator for understanding health workforce development and distribution. This pipeline should be thought of as a dynamic progression, flowing from student recruitment to enrollment in nursing school and then on to graduation, licensure, and employment in the nursing workforce. Successful and sufficient nursing student recruitment, admission, education, retention, and graduation are prerequisites for nurse licensure, practice, and effective care delivery. However, smooth movement through the nursing education pipeline can be interrupted by difficulties ranging from poor recruitment and retention of nursing students to insufficient numbers of nursing education programs and nurse educators, resulting in a persistent state of nursing shortages across practice settings worldwide.
The nursing education pipeline serves as an important indicator for understanding health workforce development and distribution.”
Published by:
The Global Nursing Workforce Centre (GNWC)
A collaborative initiative between TruMerit and the International Council of Nurses
