Almost 40,000 Qualified Nursing School Applications Turned Away

It's not all bad news. Survey data also show a surge in enrollments in graduate nursing programs, which Raines said is a promising trend.

"Moving more nursing students into graduate programs is a top priority for the profession given the growing demand for more nurses to serve as teachers and researchers as well as specialty and primary care providers," Raines said. "As we move closer to healthcare reform, many more nurses with master's and doctoral degrees will be needed to provide essential healthcare services, including nurses to serve in the four Advanced Practice Registered Nurses roles," such as clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and nurse midwife.

Preliminary data from AACN show that enrollment in master's and doctoral degree nursing programs increased significantly this year. Nursing schools with master's programs reported a 9.6% increase in enrollment (409 schools reporting) and a 10.5% increase in graduations (380 schools reporting).

In doctoral nursing programs, overall enrollment is up by 20.5% (154 schools reporting), and graduations increased by 1.9% (92 schools reporting) from 2008 to 2009. Doctor of Nursing Practice programs account for the largest share of growth in this student population with a 40.9% increase in enrollments reported this year (85 schools reporting). In 2009, the number of students enrolled in research-focused doctoral programs increased by 4.1%, according to preliminary estimates.