The AFT has prepared a questionnaire to gauge the presidential candidates’ views on issues of concern to our members. The questionnaire has been provided to all the leading Democratic and Republican candidates, and their answers will be made available to you as we receive them. Here is one of the healthcare-related questions asked of the candidates, followed by excerpts from the responses we have received.

At press time, the following candidates had not returned the AFT questionnaire: Sen. Sam Brownback, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Sen. Mike Gravel, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. John McCain and former Gov. Mitt Romney.

“Many licensed healthcare professionals, particularly RNs, are leaving hospital service because of difficult working conditions, including excessive and unsafe workloads, understaffing, and mandatory overtime. What would you do to address these problems and to improve recruitment and retention of nurses and other healthcare professionals?”

Sen. Joseph Biden

We are facing a critical shortage of nurses. According to a report released by the American Hospital Association, U.S. hospitals need approximately 118,000 RNs to fill vacant positions nationwide. To attract and retain high-quality nurses, I support increasing funding for Title VIII programs, increasing funding for accelerated degree programs, and expanding funds available for nursing student loans, loan repayment, and scholarships. We also need to increase the supply of nurse faculty, which I propose to do by funding accelerated degree programs and doctoral programs and doubling funding for the Nurse Faculty Loan program. Finally, I support legislation that would help interested workers who have been laid off from other jobs get training to work in health care either as a nurse or in other specialty fields.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton

As Senator, I introduced the Nursing Retention and Quality of Care Act, which increases federal funding for nurse training programs, establishes a National Nurse Service Corps to pay for nursing education for those students who agree to work in facilities with staff shortages, and sponsors advertisements to promote nursing careers. I also recently proposed the Nursing Education and Quality of Healthcare Act, which increases the nurse workforce in rural areas, expands the number of nurse faculty, and integrates patient safety and quality practices into nursing education. I have supported and will continue to support loan forgiveness and other initiatives that better equip hard to serve communities in recruiting and retaining a high quality workforce. As President, I will work to enact both of these bills into law and to seek out additional innovative strategy to address this challenge, which affects each of us when we or our loved ones are most vulnerable. I will also continue to work to improve workplace conditions by eliminating mandatory overtime and increasing the number of nurses on duty so that their jobs can be more manageable.

Sen. Christopher Dodd

Today, nurses and licensed health care professionals are more essential to the medical community and the nation than ever before—and will surely be a critical component of any solution to our current health care crisis. Given the stakes and the integral role nurses play in our health care system, the current administration ought to be doing everything in its power to empower and reward the nursing community for its remarkable work.

As President, I would protect healthcare funding and uphold patient care standards. I would also ensure that all health care professionals have the same protections as other workers. I believe that by improving working conditions for health care workers, the retention rate of these workers will improve and more people will be encouraged to enter this satisfying and important field.

Sen. John Edwards

Educating and training the next generation of health care workers is essential to meet the increased demand of a universal health care system. The need is particularly acute for nursing—the backbone of the health care system—where we are already experiencing a shortage.

... I have a plan to attract 100,000 nurses, bringing 50,000 back to the profession, and recruiting an additional 50,000. I will improve workplace conditions for nurses through federal challenge grants to support “magnet hospitals” with better work environments, training nurses to take on new and more challenging roles, mentoring young nurses, and giving nurses a voice in hospital administration.

I will also improve workplace safety through collaborative efforts led by the Department of Health and Human Services and eliminate mandatory overtime for nurses. ...

... To recruit 50,000 additional nurses, I support nursing schools by encouraging partnerships between these schools and hospitals to increase the seats at nursing schools by 30 percent over five years. I will also help pay tuition for nursing students who agree to serve where they are needed most, such as rural hospitals and urban public hospitals.

Sen. Barack Obama

The nursing workforce shortage ranks as one of the top pressing issues facing our health care system. Nurses play a critical role in every aspect of patient care, including care provided in schools, public health departments, clinics, hospitals and long-term care facilities. ... To address the growing nursing shortage, which is particularly acute in hospitals, I will:

a) support minimum nursing staff ratios and limitations on overtime, to keep both nurses and patients safe;

b) reauthorize Title VIII training programs, with greater financial incentives for students and nurse faculty, including scholarships and loan repayment;

c) expand and accelerate health system redesign, especially initiatives emphasizing multidisciplinary care and those targeting the most challenging work environments such as emergency rooms;

d) support adoption of health IT, which will help to streamline processes of care, increasing efficiency and minimizing needless paperwork and administrative requirements; and

e) continue to recognize and support nurses’ right to organize.

Gov. Bill Richardson

This is an enormous problem in America, and it will only get worse in the years to come. In New Mexico, I already took many steps to address this issue. In the last four years, we:

■   Awarded $2 million for higher education nursing programs. Last year, funding was awarded to 16 nursing programs that served 8,000 nursing students across the state;

■   Instituted financial support and student loan relief for nurse practitioners and nurse midwives in rural communities; ...

■   Increased the cigarette tax and committed the resulting revenue to improving healthcare facilities around the state. ...

America’s nurses are committed to keeping their patients safe and on a path to recovery. We in turn must do the same for them. We can ensure their health and safety by expanding safety training programs and helping hospitals comply with high quality standards.