EDITORIAL
Supply of nurses dependent on pay

As is true with so many other high-demand professions, Hawai'i goes through a feast and famine cycle in its supply of trained practical and registered nurses.

As reported by staff writer Dan Nakaso this week, the state is in the famine side of the cycle. The state is short more than 1,000 nurses, yet local schools are turning away applicants because they lack the faculty to teach them.

The shortage is particularly acute at the University of Hawai'i. The other major nursing program, at Hawai'i Pacific University, is struggling to find clinical training positions for those who graduate from its program.

State lawmakers are considering appropriations that would allow the University of Hawai'i to substantially expand the size of its nursing program. That makes sense, to the degree it would bring some equilibrium to the supply and demand for trained nurses in the Islands.

But expansion should be treated carefully. There have been times when a surplus of nurses found Hawai'i residents traveling elsewhere for jobs.

At the same time, Hawai'i remains a lure for nurses from overseas, particularly the Philippines.

The key is balance and, of course, pay. As is true with so many other high-value, high-importance professions such as teachers and police, society seems unwilling to pay nurses what they are worth.