Perhaps when that number is $85,000/year I admit that there is a definite need.
Their wages are increasing at faster than a 7% rate annually.
There is nothing sacred about such a rate of increase in a profession that is traditionally one of the lower paid professions nationally.
There are more nursing positions in this country than there are licensed nurses. If I raised wages by 50%, the number of nurses would not necessarily increase, but your medical bills would.
There are more nursing positions that do not actually need nurses in them but that could use such people as paramedics and former military medics than one can count. If you raised wages by 50% and improved working conditions you would have all the nurses you need unless and until someone else came up with competeing bids. Now the fact you would have to raise your charges does not particularly disturb me. The government forcing you to lower them does. These higher wages would certainly attract a large number of nursing students and rapidly the supply of fully qualified people would fully meet demand.
And then the government would force me to lower them, and then I would go out of business, and then no nurses would be working, and you and I would fall ill and die.Socialism is hell. The big problem is the government regulation and subsidy. You just want a little to benefit you when what I am proposing is merely regulating our bordersand ensuring free market access for American businesses. I presume that H1B Visa's may make sense for a brief period for the health care industry but by using the free market within the USA all those needs can be filled.