Training nurses

Caring for Missourians is a $40 million statewide initiative using federal stimulus funds aimed at training more health-care professionals at Missouri's public colleges and universities. Southeast Missouri State University will receive nearly $1.2 million for its nursing programs.

Recently, state Sen. Jason Crowell sent a letter to the university's board of regents asking that it impose guidelines that would restrict the Caring for Missourians funding to Missouri residents who promise to seek jobs in Missouri.

The senator's aim is to ensure high-quality care for Missourians while making sure a portion of the state's stimulus funding isn't used to benefit other states. While this may be, in its purest form, a well-intentioned idea, it is one that isn't practical.

As it turns out, 41 of 46 bachelor of science in nursing graduates at the university last year were Missourians, and 44 of the graduates were licensed in Missouri.

But, as the regents pointed out in a reply to Crowell, it would be impractical to impose state-specific restrictions on nursing school students. And admitting out-of-state students to the program tends to generate more health care professionals for Missouri in the long run.

Caring for Missourians is a good program without the narrow limits Crowell suggests.