The recent news of a looming nursing shortage has resulted in growth in the number of students earning health and medicine degrees. A recent survey from the American Association of Colleges or Nursing showed that entry-level bachelor's of science in nursing degree programs have seen an enrollment hike of 3.9 percent.

Nearly 650 of the United States' 840 nursing programs responded to the survey, which showed that all areas of professional registered nursing programs are growing. That growth is based on a comparison of 2011 responses from the same 540 schools that responded in 2010.

"With the Institute of Medicine and other leading authorities calling for significant increases in the number of nurses with baccalaureate and graduate degrees, moving to prepare a more highly educated nursing workforce has become a national priority," said AACN President Kathleen Potempa. "AACN is pleased to see robust interest in baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral nursing programs, despite deep budget cuts and resource constraints facing many schools of nursing, which may impede future growth."

A shortage in the number of nursing professionals is expected to be spurred by a growing number of baby boomers, who will be retiring from their medical positions and need more medical attention themselves.