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WASHINGTON – While the nursing shortage has been a glaring problem nationwide for the last few years, the nursing faculty shortage may be an even bigger issue.
Nearly 50,000 qualified applicants were denied entrance to professional nursing programs in 2008, and the nursing faculty shortage was one of the main reasons, according to survey data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Despite the dismal faculty numbers, nursing associations and advocacy groups are hoping that federal and state initiatives and partnerships will drive creative solutions and reverse the situation.
A handful of states are creating innovative programs, said Nancy Spector, RN, director of education for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
For instance, Oregon is trying to seamlessly integrate its associates degree and baccalaureate nursing programs and build a statewide curriculum between the two programs to enable faculty sharing.
The Massachusetts Dept. of Higher Education is exploring the possibility of establishing a faculty center that would include a substitute educator pool of retired or part-time instructors.
Boards of nursing that approve programs and faculty have to work together to come up with creative initiatives, Spector said. One such program has practice settings provide adjunct faculty to teach classes free of charge.
A number of states are waiving faculty qualifications, and allowing 10 percent of the faculty to be on waiver. "We don't necessarily want to see a decrease in standards, but it is a necessity," said Spector.
On the federal level, the recent economic stimulus legislation - the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - has allocated $500 million for healthcare workforce training, with $300 million for loans and scholarships under the National Health Services Corp. and $200 million divided between the Title VII and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Programs.
Increasing loans, scholarships and training under Title VIII, which is the largest source of federal dollars for nursing education, would enable students to get their degrees quicker and keep others from defaulting on student loans, said Suzanne Begeny, director of government affairs for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, or AACN.
The Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA, has 90 days to map out a final plan, and AACN is advocating that some of the funding for Title VIII go toward nursing faculty, she said.
One of the strongest methods to address the nursing shortage is to have the Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development (NEED) Act, introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), passed, said Begeny.
First introduced in 2004 and following the concept of the Nurse Training Act of 1971 for a comprehensive solution, the NEED Act would provide grants to schools of nursing, as well as have the General Accounting Office make recommendations to Congress on how to increase participation in the nurse faculty profession.
If Title VIII funds increase and are allocated quickly, Begeny thinks that we could see results in fiscal year 2009-2010.
The AACN also supported President Obama's remarks at his healthcare reform summit last Thursday, March 5th, on the nursing shortage and the need to educate more nursing faculty, which underscored his understanding of the "pipeline barrier," Begeny said.
doctor dre says: