Are There Enough Nursing Profs?

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one million nursing positions will be unfilled by the year 2010. And in Canada, there is a projected shortfall of some 78,000 nurses. Last year's nursing school enrollment, in the US, increased by 8%, but labor economists argue that this increase will not meet the demand. Oddly enough, in 2001, as reported by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), some 5,800 qualified nursing school applicants in the US were turned away. The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) has reported that almost 1,800 Canadian nursing applicants were turned away in 2002. Why?

Over the next decade, as "boomer" professors retire, almost all universities will have serious faculty shortages. Nowhere is this more apparent than in nursing. In 2002, the mean age of full-time faculty (with PhDs) within US nursing schools was 53.5 years of age. And an alarming 70% of nursing faculty are over 50 and due to retire in the next decade or so. Worse still, only 40% of nurses who get a PhD stay in academia. And for those who are Master's trained, the situation is dire: a full 75% leave teaching for better-paying clinical and administrative positions.

Getting academic faculty on stream takes time. In nursing, a PhD tends to be more of a mid-career move – the median age of a graduating doctoral student in nursing is 46.2, while the median age of all graduating doctoral students coming out of US universities is 33.7. Therefore, nursing schools have their faculty for a much shorter period of time, and the cost of replacing them is much higher than for others.

In Canada, nursing faculty shortages are equally acute. The recent pressure by provincial health ministries to increase baccalaureate prepared nurses for the health system has placed increasing pressure on the limited pool of nursing faculty. The number of seats – at all levels – have been creating significant pressure on the existing resources.

Who Will Teach our Future Nurses?

In light of the crisis situation, some innovative and effective programs have been developed.

Loaned faculty: Hospitals are lending their clinical educators to universities and colleges to teach within educational institutions.

Fast-track programs: Students with non-nursing degrees are getting credit for much of their previous academic training, so that their nursing degree program can be shortened.

Retirement-Age Flexibility: Where mandatory retirement is not an issue, nursing professors are continuing to teach after age 65. In addition, universities are contracting-back retired professors.

Financial Assistance: Because nurses don't usually pursue advanced degrees until after they have acquired work experience, the impact of giving up earning potential is significant. More part-time programs, more hospital-sponsored programs, and more funding from private foundations are encouraging students to pursue advanced degrees. (Unfortunately, part-time studies mean that it takes much longer to complete graduate programs, and they cause a delay in providing increased faculty for nursing positions.)

Despite the present climate of shortages in the nursing teaching sector, for many students a career in nursing education is something they've always wanted. Check out Is an Academic Career for Me?, if you're one of them.

What's Being Done

E³ Enroll. Educate. Empower. A Summit on the Nursing Shortage – held October 10 to 13, 2004 – discussed, among other things, nursing faculty shortages. It was a joint venture of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN); the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International; the National Association of Healthcare Recruitment; and JWT Specialized Communications.

Are There Enough Nursing Profs?

Who Will Teach our Future Nurses?

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Deborah Moores

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