[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 192 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 192

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                          May 12, 2009.
Whereas since 1999, National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also 
        known as National Recognition Day for Nurses, through May 12, the 
        birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing;
Whereas National Nurses Week is a time of year to reflect on the important 
        contributions that nurses make to provide safe, high-quality healthcare;
Whereas nurses are known to be patient advocates, acting fearlessly to protect 
        the lives of those under their care;
Whereas nurses represent the largest single component of the healthcare 
        profession, with an estimated population of 2,900,000 registered nurses 
        in the United States;
Whereas nurses are experienced researchers, and their work encompasses a wide 
        scope of scientific inquiry including clinical research, health systems 
        and outcomes research, and nursing education research;
Whereas nurses provide culturally and ethnically competent care and are 
        increasingly being educated to be sensitive to regional and community 
        customs of persons needing care;
Whereas nurses are best positioned to provide leadership to eliminate healthcare 
        disparities that exist in our Nation;
Whereas nurses help inform and educate the public to improve the practice of all 
        nurses and, more importantly, the health and safety of the patients they 
        care for;
Whereas the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) released 
        preliminary survey data showing that enrollment in entry-level 
        baccalaureate nursing programs increased by only 2 percent from 2007 to 
        2008, and though this marks the eighth consecutive year of enrollment 
        growth, the annual increase in student capacity in 4-year nursing 
        programs has declined sharply since 2003 when enrollment was up by 16.6 
        percent;
Whereas United States nursing programs were forced to reject almost 100,000 
        qualified applications to nursing programs according to the National 
        League for Nursing's most recent survey of all prelicensure nursing 
        programs;
Whereas the nationwide nursing shortage has caused dedicated nurses to work 
        longer hours and care for more acutely ill patients;
Whereas nurse educators work on average more than 57 hours per week in order to 
        ensure that each and every new registered nurse receives an excellent 
        education, advancing excellence among the next generation of nurses;
Whereas nurses are strong allies to Congress as they help inform, educate, and 
        work closely with legislators to improve the education, retention, 
        recruitment, and practice of all nurses and, more importantly, the 
        health and safety of the patients they care for; and
Whereas increased Federal and State support is needed to enhance existing 
        programs and create new programs to educate nursing students at all 
        levels, to increase the number of faculty members to educate nursing 
        students, to create clinical sites and have the appropriately prepared 
        nurses to teach and train at those sites, to create educational 
        opportunities to retain nurses in the profession, and to educate and 
        train more nurse research scientists who can discover new nursing care 
        models to improve the health status of the Nation's diverse population: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the significant contributions of nurses to the 
        healthcare system of the United States;
            (2) supports the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week, as 
        founded by the American Nurses Association; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe National 
        Nurses Week with appropriate recognition, ceremonies, activities, and 
        programs to demonstrate the importance of nurses to the everyday lives 
        of patients.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.