
09/04/2025
More than 37% of qualified applicants, even those already with bachelor’s degrees, were rejected from Wayne State University College of Nursing this year.
It’s a national trend. More than 65,000 qualified applicants were not accepted into undergraduate nursing programs across the U.S. last year. It's not because they're not needed — the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration projects a 15% gap between nursing demand and available nurses in Michigan by 2035.
There are not enough nursing educators to train the next generation to meet the demand in the field.
It’s a matter of economics and safety regulations. Michigan regulations restrict how many students can be overseen by a single faculty member in the clinical setting, and pay in academia is outpaced by pay for nurses in hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices.
“It comes down to a complete mismatch of incentives for nurse educators, providers and nurses,” said Christopher Friese, vice provost for academic and faculty affairs at the University of Michigan and professor at the UM School of Nursing. “We absolutely need more slack in the system. We can’t run health care with the absolute bare minimum. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment and this issue is keeping qualified people out of the hospital.”
Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/health-care/michigan-needs-more-nurses-students-are-getting-turned-away?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own