Despite the economic downturn, record numbers of well qualified potential nursing students continue to be turned away or placed on long waiting lists, (in some cases several years in length), by traditional campus based nursing schools due to severe shortages of nurse educators. As we’ve been reporting for many months now, the nationwide deficit of nursing faculty has reached critical proportions as the current faculty workforce rapidly advances toward retirement and the pool of younger replacement faculty decreases. The shortage of nurse educators poses serious threat to national health care.

“The stability and quality of our nation’s health care rely heavily on a sufficient supply of appropriately educated and skilled nurses,” according to Susan B. Hassmiller, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The number of nursing graduates with bachelor’s and master’s degrees isn’t keeping up with soaring demand.

Educators and health planners see the growing demand for nurses not only as a need for additional personnel but also for additional education, with more nurses prepared in baccalaureate programs that emphasize leadership, patient education, case management, and care across a variety of acute care and outpatient settings. But how can this lofty goal possibly be accomplished without enough nursing faculty to teach them?

Nursing Faculty Positions Unfilled Despite Recession

At Rhode Island Hospital, the shortage of highly qualified nurses who teach is already so bad that it’s had two nurse educator positions open for two years, even at the largest hospital in a state with one of the nation’s worst unemployment rates.

The looming nursing crisis could mean that the region has thousands fewer nurses than it needs by 2020, according to projections by health officials. Federal estimates have projected the nation will have 29 percent fewer nurses than it needs by 2020.

The influx of baby boomers with complex health needs and an aging nursing population are exacerbating the problem. The average age of nurses is 49, while the average age of nursing faculty is 55, said Maureen Sroczynski, project director for the tri-state collaboration and chief nursing consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s nursing initiatives. The more than 60 nursing schools in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island can’t keep up with the demand.

States Working Together to Address Nurse Faculty Shortage

So Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire are banding together with the help of a $250,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which, joined with grants from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation and others, aims to increase the number of teachers, add training opportunities and provide incentives for nurses to want to pursue advanced degrees.

One of the goals of the project is to encourage nurses who are interested in teaching to get their master’s or doctorates with scholarships. The grants can be used for anything related to their education, including child care or transportation, as long as the recipient agrees to a year of teaching for each year of funding.

To date, Massachusetts has awarded 17 grants of $10,000 each so far, which are being administered through the Massachusetts Hospital Association. Rhode Island and New Hampshire are following suit, with amounts that vary from $5,000 to $10,000 annually.

Skip Waiting Lists By Earning Your Nursing Degree Online

Online nursing degree programs make it possible for working adults to earn an advanced degree whenever and wherever it`s convenient for them, rather than having to rearrange work and family responsibilities around fixed class schedules. This ability to continue earning while learning through online nursing degree programs is making school accessible to millions of working professionals who would find it impossible to return to school otherwise. With 24/7 access to virtual classrooms, multimedia lessons, and the ability to network with fellow students and professors via message boards, chat rooms, and e-mail, online students enjoy distinct advantages over campus based students!

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