In response to the continuing shortage of nurses and nurse educators, Indiana University of Pennsylvania has received approval to offer a doctoral program for nurse educators.

According to the article at the Pittburgh Tribune-Review site, this and other new programs are in direct response to a recent national report on the projected shortage of nurses as the average age of nurses continues to increase.

That report says that more than 30,000 qualified applicants for nursing programs were turned away because of a shortage of qualified instructors. It also says that institutions must continue to ramp up educational efforts in order to deal with the pending mass retirement of a significant portion of the nursing workforce.