These two Philly-area nurses are on a mission to get nursing recognized as a STEM field
Marion Leary from Penn and Rebecca Love from Villanova are the co-chairs of the Nursing is STEM Coalition.
Two nursing professors from the Philadelphia area are leading a national coalition seeking to convince federal agencies to recognize their field as a science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, profession.
Nurses currently lack such recognition from most government agencies, which prevents them from accessing millions of dollars in grants for STEM-specific research and other opportunities like the White House’s $1.2 billion investment in STEM in 2022.
Marion Leary and Rebecca Love, who cochair the Nursing is STEM Coalition, will submit a petition letter at the end of April asking the Department of Homeland Security to designate nursing a STEM profession.
DHS is the first target of their campaign for universal recognition among federal agencies. Currently, only some agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, recognize nursing as STEM.
The Inquirer spoke with Love, from Villanova University, and Leary, from the University of Pennsylvania, about why the STEM designation matters to nurses.
Why is STEM important?
STEM professions have benefited from priority status by funders and government agencies over the past decade. For example, DHS allows foreign students to stay longer in the U.S. after graduation if they obtained a STEM degree. And the National Science Foundation sets aside millions of dollar in grants every year for STEM professionals.
There has also been an emphasis by government, universities, and private employers on creating pipelines for women and people from underrepresented communities into STEM fields.
“STEM is basically building the careers of the future,” said Love, a visiting nursing professor at Villanova, who also runs a nonprofit focused on ways to bill and reimburse for the care nurses provide.
The Department of Homeland Security has recognized a growing list of STEM professions over the years. These include social psychology and global health, for example, outside of the traditional bench science and engineering jobs.
What’s the case for nursing as a STEM profession?
Nurses apply science, technology, math, and engineering in their daily work, said Leary, the director of innovation at Penn Nursing. Nurses learn pharmacology, manage medications, and operate technology at the bedsides of patients every day.
“All the work that nurses do, both clinically and outside the bedside, that’s all science, technology, engineering and math,” Leary said.
Leary and Love heard stories from nurses who had to return grants, or lost fellowship opportunities, because their degrees aren’t considered STEM. The impacts extend to nurses with doctorate degrees like Leary, whose research is based in statistics.
Why isn’t nursing universally recognized as a STEM?
Leary believes gender bias is a factor. She said the fact that about 90% of nurses are women could contribute to the decision to overlook nursing as a STEM field.
“It’s a female-dominated profession living in a world of STEM that is majority male,” she said.
What action is the coalition taking?
The national coalition that Leary and Love cochair is about two months old.
They view their application for STEM recognition by DHS as a bellwether, having noticed that other agencies followed when DHS previously designated a profession as STEM.
The application is due at the end of April, and DHS is expected to announce a decision in August. More than 100 nursing organizations and leaders in the field signed onto the letter, they said.
Love hopes the STEM designation can help with funding to sustain the profession after many nurses left bedside care positions after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, and hospitals are struggling with a nursing shortage.
“There’s no greater profession in the United States, in my opinion, that uses a combination of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to advance forward human health than nursing,” she said. “It is time that we correctly be classified as such.”
Nursing Is STEM and the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement Announce Strategic Partnership to Empower Nurses and Secure the Future of Nursing
In an exciting development for the nursing profession, Nursing Is STEM, a coalition dedicated to securing STEM designation for nursing, and the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement, a body committed to modernizing nurse reimbursement, have announced a groundbreaking partnership. This collaboration is set to pave the way for a sustainable future for nurses by focusing on professional development, economic empowerment, and advancing nursing as a critical STEM discipline.
At the heart of this partnership is a shared vision to revolutionize how nurses are perceived and valued within the healthcare system and society at large. The Commission for Nurse Reimbursement is on a mission to reshape the economic landscape of nursing care, advocating for policies that ensure healthcare systems are reimbursed for the indispensable care nurses provide. This approach acknowledges the economic power of nursing and aims to enhance the profession’s ability to attract and retain skilled nurses at the bedside.
Nursing Is STEM has established a growing coalition of professional nursing experts and interdisciplinary partners dedicated to achieving across-the-board STEM designation for the nursing profession. “STEM recognition is crucial for growing the professional nursing workforce, attracting diverse populations to the field, and improving funding opportunities for nursing programs and students,” said Jason Garbarino, DNP, RN, Executive Director of the Nursing is STEM Coalition.
The partnership addresses the critical challenges facing bedside nursing, where staffing reductions have threatened patient care and nurse retention. The collaboration empowers nurses and reinforces their pivotal role in healthcare, advocating for better reimbursement models and providing professional development and continuing education programs.
“This partnership represents a significant step forward in creating a sustainable future for nursing and leveraging its economic power,” said Melissa Mills, RN, the Executive Director of the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement.
Both organizations are looking for nurses and other professionals to support their missions and join their efforts. You can sign up here for the Commission’s mailing list to receive newsletters to stay up to date on events, progress towards reimbursement changes, and opportunities to get involved. The Nursing is STEM Coalition is seeking healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and individuals sign onto the coalition here.
About Nursing Is STEM
Nursing Is STEM is a coalition of nursing professionals and interdisciplinary partners advocating for the recognition of nursing as a STEM discipline. Through its efforts, Nursing Is STEM aims to expand the nursing workforce, introduce the field to diverse populations, and secure funding for nursing education.
About the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement
The Commission for Nurse Reimbursement aims to modernize nurse reimbursement practices to ensure the sustainability of the nursing profession. By advocating for policies recognizing the value of nursing care, the Commission strives to improve patient outcomes and support the growth and development of nurses across the healthcare system.