Should Nursing Be Recognized As A STEM Profession?

• STEM education exists to position the U.S. competitively in the global market, prepare students for STEM careers, and grow the supply of STEM-ready graduates.
• Nurses apply math, biology, and technology every day, but nursing degrees usually aren't classified as STEM degrees.
• Several federal bodies, including the Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration and the Department of Homeland Security (ICE), do not list nursing as STEM.

Ask a room of people whether nursing is a STEM career and most will say yes. Nursing students take heavy loads of science, math, and technology. "Nurses in every aspect of healthcare engage with technology and are the first to implement the use of new technology as it emerges," says Tammy K. Stafford, DNP, a clinical professor and graduate program coordinator at Angelo State University.

Yet the federal government does not recognize nursing as STEM education, and that gap creates real social, political, and economic barriers. Here's why many nursing leaders argue nursing belongs under the STEM umbrella, and what would have to change to get it there.

What Is STEM?

Judith Ramaley, Ph.D., of the National Science Foundation coined the term STEM in 2001. It stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. She defined it as "an educational inquiry where learning was placed in context, where students solved real-world problems and created opportunities, the pursuit of innovation."

By 2007, studies showed that adding "A" for art, creating STEAM, drove innovation through analogies, models, skills, structures, techniques, methods, and knowledge. Art gave students room to expand their imaginations and become innovators.

STEM and STEAM became an educational framework used at every grade level, promoted by presidents across both parties. In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration launched the Raise the Bar: STEM Excellence for All Students Initiative, designed to strengthen STEM education nationally, help students from pre-K through higher education succeed in rigorous STEM learning, recruit and retain STEM educators, and fund STEM education through the American Rescue Plan and other sources.

The label matters because it drives money. The American Rescue Plan dedicated $120 billion to K-12 STEM education, and federal funds are reserved for STEM throughout higher education. Federal and state agencies fund STEM programs and offer scholarships to STEM students. Which professions count as STEM is still up for debate.

Is Nursing a STEM/STEAM Subject?

Nursing prerequisites start where many other STEM degrees start. "They include math, higher-level math, and chemistry just like other STEM fields," says Nancy A. Mimm, DNP, an assistant professor at Harrisburg University. A master's in nursing adds advanced statistics, biostatistics, advanced anatomy and physiology, and advanced pharmacology.

That science and math curriculum trains nurses to examine and produce the data that drives evidence-based practice. "Nurses are scientists as we examine, evaluate, and recommend treatments and interventions," Mimm says. "We then assess them for effectiveness to promote the best optimum health and well-being outcomes for populations and individuals."

Nurses cannot work without math. They calculate medication dosages that have to be safe, and they analyze data to determine what care changes improve quality while controlling cost, Stafford says.

Nursing is also an art, which fits STEAM. The curriculum carries liberal arts prerequisites in social and behavioral science and the humanities. "Nurses demonstrate empathy and compassion soft skills as well. Many nurses are creative and use the arts to convey and teach concepts," says Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN, who teaches Haiku poetry as a stress-management tool and uses art to teach and validate nursing concepts.

Engineering fits too. "As trained problem solvers, nurses are engineering every day in their work as demonstrated by their ability to identify problems and often create a workaround to ensure the delivery of quality patient care," Stafford says. Nurses use the scientific method in every part of the role, the same method every scientist uses, Mimm notes. Because they work across every part of a healthcare facility, nurses are usually the ones who spot what needs to improve, especially in technology and systems.

Why Isn't Nursing Considered STEM/STEAM?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts nursing as a STEM and STEM-adjacent field, and many universities house nursing within their science programs. But the Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration does not, and neither do the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

Like medicine, nursing applies math, biology, and technology daily yet is usually left off STEM lists. Nursing is treated as an applied science, described in one literature review as "a jack of all trades and a master of none," which may be part of why it falls outside the STEM designation.

Resulting Barriers

The exclusion carries consequences:

• Because Homeland Security doesn't classify nursing as STEM, noncitizen nurses aren't eligible for the STEM visa extension.
• The Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection reports that students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately shut out of STEM learning opportunities, which limits the pipeline of prospective nursing students.
• STEM has a gender gap. The American Association of University Women reports women hold only 28% of STEM jobs.

More than 85% of nurses are women. Classifying nursing as STEM could raise the share of women in STEM and pull in more funding and workforce development.

What Would Have to Change

Seven steps would push nursing toward STEM recognition:

1. The federal government recognizes nursing as STEM. Federal funding for nursing education would open up and become less competitive, money that could address shortages in both clinical and academic settings, and it would better position nurses to move into other STEM careers.
2. Nurses spread the word. "We need to use the language of STEM and continue working on nursing research and quality and process improvement," Mimm says.
3. Nurses see themselves as innovators. Innovation can be small or large. "Nurses need the educational background and time to learn and implement evidence-based practice, technological improvements, and innovative ideas," Stafford says.
4. Nurses collaborate with other STEM fields. Partnering with engineers spurs innovation, Stafford says.
5. Academic institutions house nursing within STEM/STEAM. Some universities already do. It should be consistent across institutions and start at the undergraduate level.
6. Nurses take a seat at the table. Farese urges nurses to pursue roles in government, education statistics centers, hospital boards, media, management companies, healthcare organizations, and academia.
7. Nurses weigh in on funding. Nurses should be part of STEM funding decisions for education, hospitals, and equipment and system procurement.

A STEM designation matters for nursing's future. The shortage is projected to deepen, and STEM status could strengthen workforce development, funding, and immigration policy while opening scholarships for students pursuing a nursing-STEM path.