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A nurse's daily rounds go through life's most terrible and most tender moments. It's not the most glamorous or best-paying job, but many nurses say once they help with births, deaths and all other medical conditions, it's hard for them to think of another career.

"I've always wanted to do nursing. Initially my dad insisted I do accounting, [but after] 15 years of work I realized I still want to do it," says nursing student Ama Otoo.

"I actually started nursing when I was younger and then went to a different degree and came back to nursing," says nursing student Diana Baker. "It just felt more comfortable, and my family is medical professionals, so it kind of is my fit, that's where I'm suppose to be."

The satisfaction of directly helping patients has at least partially contributed to one of this profession's big challenges. Most people are already aware that there's a shortage of nurses, but there's also a shortage of nursing instructors.

New York State turned away 1,000 students last year as there was no one to teach them.

"Well they're poorly paid, and it's not the adrenaline rush you get working at the bedside," says Kathleen Nowak of the New York State Nurses Association. "And a lot of people have a hard time separating from the bedside. I mean, I'm an old nurse and I miss the babies."

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been active in generating new avenues of nursing education. Her latest initiative is a five-year partnership with City University of New York and area hospitals to create new faculty.

"CUNY will work with hospitals to identify 10 experienced nurses who'll become guest faculty for one year. This way we will put people who know how to nurse into the classroom to teach more people how to nurse," says Quinn.

Jacqueline Muckian is a knowledgeable nurse in the process of sharing her experience.

"It's a much different role as an educator than as a clinician. I love teaching," says Muckian. "I think the students so far have been brilliant. I love seeing them develop from the beginning of the semester to the end, seeing their skills increase, knowledge increase. I think it's extremely rewarding."

New York State has 170,000 nurses but still has room for more. The new teaching initiative and others like it could help bring thousands of students into the classroom, instead of turning them away.